Council refuses homes plan at beauty spot

The sloping field the applicant sought to build on borders Ledbury Road, in Wellington Heath

A plan put forward a year ago for five large modern houses at a Herefordshire beauty spot has been refused.

Sebastian Abbatiello wanted to build the four-bedroomed homes on a field by Ledbury Road, Wellington Heath, within the Malvern Hills National Landscape.

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

But Herefordshire Council's planning officer felt the scheme would "dominate and urbanise the hillside".

Despite the buildings' form and layout being changed considerably during the planning consultation, it was not enough to win critics around.

The council's landscape officer said the site, formerly classified an Area of Natural Beauty, required "a more holistic approach to combining the contemporary architecture with sensitive landscape and biodiversity design".

Its ecology officer said no ecology report has been supplied on the impact on the site and surroundings, including on protected bats.

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

Despite proposing a revised scheme, the application for five large homes was refused by planners

Also objecting, Wellington Heath Parish Council said the 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 eight public objections.

Refusing the scheme, planning officer Emma Aram concluded, despite its revisions, it would not complement 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was the fifth attempt to develop the site since 2017, the most recent by Mr Abbatiello being for seven houses which was withdrawn a year and a half ago.

Planners said the scheme was not acceptable and advised him to propose a scheme which met local need.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.