A former chicken shed in High Littleton could soon be turned into ten upside down houses.

One of two large former chicken barns off Langfords Lane already has approval to be converted into five homes. But now prior approval is being sought to turn it into ten one bedroom homes.

An application is also under consideration by Bath and North East Somerset Council to turn the other barn into a guesthouse.

Because the barn is built on a slope, the houses would have an upside down floor plan. The front door would open onto an upper ground floor with an open plan kitchen, dining room, and lounge with a large window looking across to Paulton.

Residents would then go downstairs to a master bedroom with an en-suite bathroom below the lounge, opening onto the garden. The ten houses would all have the same floor plan, which would also include a bike and bin store outside, and an office, utility room, cloakroom, and toilet on the upper ground floor.

But the plans have been met by some local opposition. High Littleton resident Laura Wilson warned: “The traffic on the lane is already excessive, and dangerous. Adding more traffic, houses, and cars to this will make the lane worse and this will increase danger to the residents who use the lane.”

T. L. Castle added: “I know the previous application to build five houses was approved, but to allow the building of an additional five residential properties is disproportionate considering the current level of properties being serviced by the lane currently and is only going to compound the risk of a serious accident happening at some point.”

The barn was built in the 1980s with concrete blockwork clad in timber. Converting the barn to housing would see render added to existing blockwork and new timber classing, as well as a replacement of the roof and new doors and windows.

The barn was formerly used for pullet rearing by the RW Stratton Farm Partnership, where female chicks were kept until they were transferred to the caged chicken egg production facility at Manor Farm in Burnett. But after major supermarkets went free range only and it was not judged feasible to convert the Manor Farm site to free range, that facility was closed. Pullet rearing in this barn ceased in June 2021.

View and comment on the plans here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=24%2F03125%2FADCOU#details_Section