Herefordshire Council planning officers are recommending refusal for a scheme to build a detached two storey holiday lodge in the grounds of the New Inn at Fownhope. The building will contain eight rooms with ensuite bathroom facilities and some ‘Juliet’ balconies.

In addition a widened vehicle access into the site from the B4224 road and a revised car-park layout are proposed.

The New Inn Public House is set back from the main B4224 which runs through the centre of Fownhope.

The site, and the wider area, lies within a Conservation Area and the Wye Valley Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Fownhope Parish Council raise no objections but letters of objection and support have been received.

The concerns raised include the effect on the Conservation Area, the impact on protected views and traffic.

The letters of support say that access would be safer, the proposals will support employment and tourism and will help keep the New Inn viable.

The planning officers agree that the proposal would add to the accommodation offer in Herefordshire and there are no adverse neighbouring amenity, highway or drainage implications that cannot be dealt with by way of a planning condition.

However, they believe that the design of the proposal does not satisfy the requirements of several polices of the Herefordshire Local Plan. They consider that the proposal fails to conserve or enhance the environmental assets that contribute to local distinctiveness, specifically the character and appearance of the Fownhope Conservation Area.

The report states that the applicant has been given the opportunity to withdraw the present scheme (in order to reflect on the advice given by this Council’s Historic Building Officer and Landscape Officer respectively). The report said: “This offer has not been taken up so whilst there are potential revisions possible which would be more sympathetic to the historic and landscape environment at this location, the application stands to be determined as submitted.”

The officers have therefore, recommend that the planning permission be refused as it fails to demonstrate that the character of the landscape/townscape has positively influenced its design and scale and does not protect, conserve or enhance the Fownhope Conservation Area contrary to Policies SD1, LD1 and LD4 of the Herefordshire Local Plan: Core Strategy, Policies FW1 and FW7 of the Fownhope Neighbourhood Development Plan and the National Planning Policy Framework.

The application will be discussed at the planning committee meeting on Wednesday, July 12th.