A short way across North East Somerset, a remote open-sided steel barn could be renovated and turned into a spacious rural family home.

MK and EJ Sweet submitted an application to Bath and North East Somerset Council for prior approval to turn the barn — which sits at the end of a track about halfway between Chew Magna and North Wick — into a four-bedroom home.

A statement submitted with the planning application quoted a structural survey as saying: “The steelwork will require little modification to accommodate the new use. The architectural scheme enhances the stability of the structure and will protect it from weather/further corrosion which could eventually lead to deterioration.”

The barn would get proper new insulated walls but the current metal would be kept as cladding along three of the walls, except for holes cut for windows. A new rubble wall would be built around the base where there is a gap between the metal and the ground, and new timber cladding would be added on the other — currently open — side.

The statement said: “This approach is regarded as appropriate for the agricultural setting and would not be inappropriate for the green belt site. The proposed conversion will provide opportunities to enhance and manage the local biodiversity, leaving the site better than it was at the start.”

The house would have four bedrooms on a new self-supported first floor, with kitchen, dining room, living room, hallway and utility room below.

You can view and comment on the plans here.

LDRS, John Wimperis