Homes plans at Manor Farm, Duddington turned down by North Northamptonshire Council

Plans to turn historic farm buildings into five new homes have been rejected.

Planning officers believe the proposed seven-home development at Manor Farm in High Street, Duddington would be ‘inappropriate, dense and incongruous’.

An application was submitted by Duddington Estate to North Northamptonshire Council to convert and extend two existing buildings, formerly known as The Gardener’s Cottages and Red House, which are in a state of disrepair.

Plans included demolishing The Slaughter House, which has a collapsing roof due to vegetation growing inside, and knocking down the remnants of dilapidated agricultural buildings once used to shelter livestock.

This, according to the applicant, would make way for five new homes.

Find out about planning applications that affect you at the Public Notice Portal

A number of objections were made, including from residents, the parish council, an archaeology officer and a highways team.

While a number of residents supported the restoration of the historic buildings, many were concerned the rest of the development would be inappropriate.

Planning officers shared their views that the new-build homes would be out of place within the village as well as next to the historic Red House.

Rejecting the plans, George Candler, executive director of places and economy, said: “The proposal has not considered the context within which it would sit, resulting in the introduction of an inappropriate, dense and incongruous form of backland development that does not relate well to the prevailing pattern of development within the locality.

“The proposal would result in an urbanisation of the site and disproportionate, out of scale extensions to existing buildings such as Red House.”

He added that on the whole it would cause harm to the rural character and appearance of the conservation area.

What do you think? Let us know in the comments.