A NEW bid to build 25 houses on a village paddock is being made - five years after a similar scheme was thrown out on appeal.

An application to build 26 homes north of Lover’s Walk in Gorsley near Ross-on-Wye was rejected by Herefordshire Council planners in 2015, a decision that was backed in September 2016 by the inspector.

But after another outline scheme for nine large homes was approved on appeal in 2019, KH Developments of Cheltenham have now submitted a new scheme for 25 homes on the same parcel of land.

It follows the completion of two other developments by KHD in the village - which is just off the M50 turn off at Ross Golf Club - for nine houses at Chapel View and 11 larger homes at Chapel Green.

The new application for the 1.75-hectare field is for 25 "smaller" properties, 10 of them affordable, consisting of "bungalows and small houses" of two to three bedrooms.

It has been reduced from an initial scheme for 30 new village homes after "pre-planning advice".

The new bid claims that the proposal is in line with the wishes of the parish and county councils to provide "a desired mix of suitably-sized smaller homes on the site".

The council said two years ago when rejecting the nine-home bid that it "would have an unacceptable impact upon highway and pedestrian safety and expose pedestrians to unnecessary risk".

But the inspector overturned the decision, saying proposed amendments to the road and footpath access meant the plan "would not result in harmful highway issues or in unsafe routes for pedestrians".

The new proposed layout "respects the principles of the (earlier) approved development with vehicular access and pedestrian connectivity retained", the architects say.

An inspector had previously rejected the appeal over the 25-home scheme after planners had turned it down.

He said then: "There are no large estates or other large groupings of houses visible from the B4221, and the indicative layout, with plots much smaller than is typical in the area, would appear starkly at odds with the prevailing distinctive characterâ?¦

"The proposal would result in significant harm to the character and appearance of the surrounding area."

The inspector also noted: "The failure to provide suitable access to either bus-stop causes significant harm to highway safety."

And rejecting the appeal, he said: "When assessed in the round the proposal would not be a sustainable form of development."

Comments on the latest application can be made to the council until November 11 on the planning portal, which will then decide whether to approve it by the start of January.