An abandoned farmhouse in Somerset could be knocked down and replaced with houses if developers are finally successful in getting planning permission.

Standing over the B3130 between Chew Magna and Pensford, the derelict buildings of Halfway Farm are a stark contrast to the idyllic Stanton Drew Roundhouse just down the road.

A Mr and Mrs Gibson have — for the fourth time — submitted a planning application to Bath and North East Somerset Council to knock down the old buildings and build houses on the site.

A design and access statement submitted with the application by agent Neil Hiscox stated that the farm buildings have asbestos roofing and are "rapidly deteriorating." He said: "The farmhouse is in a serious state of neglect and abandonment since it was last occupied and should only be entered with extreme caution.

"The build style and materials used are very much traditional and in keeping with the area but to bring the house into use would require a complete rebuild from the foundations up in order to meet current building regulations."

Instead, the Gibsons are proposing knocking down the farmhouse and farm buildings and replacing them with five homes on a new cul-de-sac where the abandoned farmyard is currently located.

This is the Gibsons' fourth attempt to get planning permission after first submitting a planning application in April 2021.

Their previous three applications have been turned down by Bath and North East Somerset Council, with their last attempt in 2022 cited as "inappropriate development within the green belt" by the council.

But in a planning statement submitted with the current application, Mr Hiscox argued: "Halfway Farm is "within" the greenbelt but is not a green field site. The site consists of a menagerie of redundant farm buildings in varying states or repair and of course the existing dilapidated farmhouse."

Bath and North East Somerset Council will aim to make a decision on the latest application by August 18.

You can view and comment on the application here: https://www.bathnes.gov.uk/webforms/planning/details.html?refval=23%2F02236%2FOUT