Concerns raised that south Warwickshire barn conversion could become an eyesore after planning application was refused

Work had already started on the development
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Work on an Idlicote barn conversion plagued with structural problems has been forced to stop after planning permission was refused prompting concerns that the countryside development could become an eyesore.

Richard Trueman had planned to convert a barn on the Idlicote estate into two houses.

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Planning permission was already in place for the conversion but when work began, there were concerns around the safety of the barn which led to it being dismantled so that key parts of the structure could be replaced.

Work on an Idlicote barn conversion plagued with structural problems has been forced to stop after planning permission was refused prompting concerns that the countryside development could become an eyesoreWork on an Idlicote barn conversion plagued with structural problems has been forced to stop after planning permission was refused prompting concerns that the countryside development could become an eyesore
Work on an Idlicote barn conversion plagued with structural problems has been forced to stop after planning permission was refused prompting concerns that the countryside development could become an eyesore

The applicant then planned to rebuild it, keeping to the original plans.

But at the Stratford District Council planning committee on Wednesday (February 2) it was explained that by demolishing the barn, the original class Q permission was no longer applicable and Mr Trueman would have to apply for permission to build a brand new home - which officers opposed as it would be a new-build in the open countryside.

The conversion was one of a number of barns on the site and Mr Trueman told this week’s meeting: “I am grateful for the support I have received from the local community and am concerned about the fate of the adjacent barns when living alongside an unfinished construction site in perpetuity.

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"Therefore I ask that you grant planning permission so that I can complete the project I began in August 2021.”

And he had the support from Cllr Penny-Anne O’Donnell (Con, Ettington) who said: “I do have sympathy with the awkward predicament faced by this applicant. It is important that the reassembly and conversion of Barn C to two houses takes place so that the whole project is successfully completed otherwise it will simply become an eyesore.”

But after hearing that permission would go against council policy, the committee threw out the plans.

Committee chairman Cllr Peter Richards (Con, Snitterfield) said: “I think it is fair to say that we are all looking for reasonable justification to put this through.

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"The trouble we have is that an application was made under class Q - and that was presented with a structural report which stated that the building could be reconditioned and the structure was sound.

"We haven’t got a report to say that that position changed.

“I’m concerned that the applicant has been ill-advised by someone along the way through this project.

"That structural report should have been done before everything was taken down - we would then have something to get our teeth stuck into.”