A plan put forward over a year ago to build five large modern houses at a sensitive Herefordshire spot has now been refused.

Sebastian Abbatiello had sought permission for the four-bedroom homes on a sloping field by Ledbury Road, Wellington Heath north of Ledbury, within the Malvern Hills national landscape (formerly AONB).

The flat-roofed two-storey buildings were to have “captivating panoramic views through an abundance of west-facing glazing”, his application said.

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Their form and layout were changed considerably during the planning consultation, in part to make their layout less linear. But this was not enough to win critics around.

Herefordshire Council’s landscape officer said the “important site requires a more holistic approach to combining the contemporary architecture with sensitive landscape and biodiversity design”.

And its ecology officer complained that no ecology report has been supplied on the impact on the site and surroundings, including on protected bats.

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Malvern Hills national landscape, a separate authority which must be consulted on bids within its border, said that the “very large” houses proposed were not “based on convincing local need”, nor would they “enhance key views and landscape character”.

Also objecting, Wellington Heath parish council said Mr Abbatiello’s application “cherry-pick(ed) a few quotations from the village’s development plan”, which it otherwise “flew in the face of”.

Similar points were made in the eight public objections.

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Refusing the scheme, planning officer Emma Aram concluded that despite its revisions, it would still “dominate and urbanise the hillside” rather than complementing existing buildings and the landscape setting.

This was the fifth attempt to develop the site since 2017, the most recent by Mr Abbatiello being for seven houses which was withdrawn a year and a half ago.

At the time, the then planning officer Josh Bailey told Mr Abbatiello his proposal was “in no sense acceptable” and urged him to “actually propose a scheme that meets local need”.