Plans to redevelop a derelict farm steading near West Calder have been refused by West Lothian Council’s development management committee.
DM Reid Farming lodged plans to rebuild the farmhouse and convert the steading at Cairnview Mains Farm.
They also wanted to build four new homes on a strip of land next to the steading.
Planners said the proposals met the requirements of policies on development in the countryside but they were unhappy with the designs.
They said the new development would be larger than the existing footprint of the steading and encroach on to open space.
There were no local objections to the proposals.
Councillor Harry Cartmill asked if either side could provide evidence of the footprint of the development. Planners argued that the four new homes would be on open space and that the development was unjustified.
Colin Hardie, an agent for DM Reid Farming, the application as “a rarity in not attraction objection and meeting requirements”. He argued that it was “appropriate and well considered”.
The adjacent land had been used as hard standing for storing farming machinery, not as a field for grazing.
Provost Tom Kerr agreed that the area disputed by the planners could not be described as farmland. Having visited the site, he described the land as “more like a verge”.
Councillor Willie Boyle called on the committee to grant the plans permission but this was voted down.
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