FURTHER objections have been raised over shepherd's huts in a rural Herefordshire spot.

A retrospective planning application for the change of use of agricultural land and for associated development to site two shepherd's huts at a property on a private lane off Wyatt Road in Sutton St Nicholas was submitted to Herefordshire Council in 2022.

A planning statement accompanying the application said the pasture field was surplus to requirements and that the huts, which had already been placed on the site, would offer holiday accommodation from March to October. 

The statement said the huts would be moveable structures but would be connected by decking to provide a communal outside seating area.

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Emails between Herefordshire Council planning officer Ollie Jones and planning consultant Claire Rawlings show that concerns were initially raised over the decking, which was removed to satisfy concerns of permanency.

The initial application received a number of objections, including from Marden Parish Council, which said the retrospective application was "not acceptable" and that if the huts were moveable, they "should be removed by enforcement until the application is decided".

They said the installation of "significant permanent drainage and facilities" was not suitable for moveable structures.

Councillors also questioned the size of the area included in the change of use application, with concerns that there would be more development in the future, and over the access from a private, unadopted lane.

But the application has still yet to be decided on, having been put on hold due to phosphates, like many projects in the county.

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Now, with the submission of a phosphate mitigation report for the application, further objections have been registered from neighbours and the parish council.

In their latest objection, sent in June, Marden councillors said their previous concerns from 2022 stand, while concerns raised in a further objection in 2023 about the loss of prime agricultural land are also still valid.

"The parish council respectfully requests that this application is refused," the objection said.

Fellow objector Sandra Powell, who lives nearby, accused the mitigation plans of being a "blatant attempt to find a way around the regulations", while other applicants questioned why the private lane, which they said does not belong to the applicant, is included in the planning application.

The application will be decided on in due course.