Plans to build an eco-friendly home on the Worcestershire border have been turned down after objections from the National Trust.
The bungalow, planned for land behind Old Post Office Cottage in Hollybush, near Ledbury, was refused by Malvern Hills District Council due to its location in open countryside.
Designed with a green roof and step-free access, the custom-build scheme was tailored to meet the needs of an applicant living with multiple sclerosis.
The applicant’s submission highlighted the personal and practical reasons for the location.
FIELD: Land near Ledbury earmarked for a single-storey building, which has been rejected (Image: Boughton Butler)
Plans stated: “The proposal is explicitly tailored to the applicant’s Multiple Sclerosis (MS) – a progressive neurological condition – so that level access, step-free circulation and care-friendly space are embedded from the outset and adaptable over time.
“Locating the home on land the applicants own within their existing village community avoids disruptive displacement, preserves informal support networks, maintains access to local healthcare and services, and meets a housing need that the local market does not supply.”
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The home would have included solar panels, high-performance glazing, and underfloor heating powered by an air source heat pump.
But planning officers decided the scheme did not align with planning policy.
Officers said: “The site is located outside any defined settlement boundary, within open countryside, and is not identified as a location suitable for new residential development.”
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Objections were also raised by the National Trust.
The trust said: “The proposal would not be sited to conserve the special qualities of the landscape and represents inappropriate development in the open countryside.
“As such, The National Trust considers the site location as unsuitable for this development and objects to the proposal.”
Malvern Hills National Landscape concerns
Malvern Hills National Landscape also objected, saying: “Green roofs can assist integration where they are naturalistic in appearance and appropriately managed. However, they can appear incongruous if they present as a uniform sedum mat.”
Several neighbours supported the application. Simon Watts said: “I believe it is a low key design which will blend in with the location.
“I live about halfway up this lane, and find it perfectly serviceable as access to a private dwelling. The rest of the lane is no steeper or narrower than the part I use.”
Berrow Parish Council also said it was in support of the scheme.
