A man who has lived in Lea for 55 years has revealed to the Ross Gazette the negative effect a new housing development could have on his 16th Century property.

Captain Martin Lowe, of Castle End, Lea, is one of a large number of people who have objected to developers' plans to build 30 new homes in Lea, close to the village school.

The house has an extraordinary heritage but also, for Captain Lowe, it is part of his personal history. The original building dates back to the late 16th Century with the Georgian wing added in about 1730. The ownership lineage of the land is traced back to the Talbot family, in the 14th Century, and it is believed that it belonged, at one time, to King John.

It is built in local sandstone, there is a beautiful early 17th Century dovecote within the grounds, and internal features including an oak staircase, with classic uprights on the bannister, and a fruit wood panelled dining room are true Georgian features.

Captain Lowe's mother bought the house in 1958, after his father died in the Second World War.

Ownership passed to Captain Lowe after his mother was killed in a horseriding accident when he was 25 years old.

Captain Lowe left the army in 1969 and he and his first wife, Lady Elisabeth, set about updating the whole property and gardens.

Captain Lowe said: "You can't not do it if you live in a house like this. The gutters drop off, the paint peels. A bit like the Forth Road Bridge, you finish one side and you start the other."

For the full story please see this week's Ross Gazette.