Plans for nine homes in Hackthorpe, south of Penrith

The application at Town End Farm was put forward to the Westmorland & Furness Council on August 7 by the Lowther Farm Partnership.

Included in the plans are seven new houses and the conversion of an existing barn, which will create an additional two dwellings.

Once occupied, the report states the new dwellings are to boost the area socially and economically, with new residents likely to use local services in Hackthorpe, including the local nursery and school, village hall and tennis courts.

The new homes, each with three bedrooms, will be two-storey buildings crafted from local sandstone and rough-cast render.

The application states: "The benefits of the proposal would be the construction of seven new dwellings and the conversion of an existing traditional barn to create a further two dwellings – resulting in the net gain of nine new houses at a time where there is a national housing shortage, and a particular under-delivery of smaller ‘entry-level’ houses of on average 81m2 – giving people an opportunity to get onto the housing market and to live in a modern, insulated house in a rural village

Read more: Cumberland Infirmary set for new urgent treatment centre

"The conversion of the traditional barn on the site – as a non-designate heritage - asset will ensure that a future, viable use is secured for the building.

"If a future viable use is not secured the reality is that the building is at risk of being left to deteriorate or simply demolished."

Potential benefits are highlighted during the works phase citing an economic uplift through the demand for both labour and materials.

“The proposal would result in the tidying up a redundant and disused site in the middle of the village of Hackthorpe. The provision of nine new homes would add to the local housing stock and would be an important contribution of smaller sized houses," the application states.