PLANS to build three houses on a farm have been dismissed by a planning inspector.

South West Investment Partnership wants to demolish existing farm outbuildings at Whaddon Farm on Old Southampton Road and replace them with three houses with parking and gardens but Wiltshire Council refused to grant planning permission because it felt the proposals were development in the open countryside.

The company appealed the decision but planning inspector Nick Fagan agreed with the council and dismissed the appeal.

He said the area has a “generally rural feel” and introducing new development there would “extend the built form of the village away from its centre”, which is an “unacceptable extension of development into the countryside”.

He also said the proposed new building would be too close to the existing farmhouse, creating a cramped appearance, and would have a much greater footprint than the existing barns.