PLANS to build dozens of new homes and 87 car parking spaces have been refused.

South Lakeland District Council has refused an application submitted by L&W Wilson (Higham) Ltd to build 37 two, three, four and five bedroom homes at Barn Hey Farm, Flookburgh Road in the village of Allithwaite.

The site currently forms part of an established local farm business, with the majority of the land used for grazing purposes. Plans also set out to build 87 car park spaces to go alongside the properties - 12 of which are classed as affordable homes. According to the Design and Access Statement, the site 'offers a significant opportunity to improve what is currently an unsatisfactory entrance to the village'.

However, the proposal was given the thumbs down by SLDC on the grounds that properties built within the open countryside are 'required to be 100 per cent affordable'.

Other reasons state that the plans are 'not considered to be of a particularly high quality, offer little in the way of architectural interest or identity, and lack any real sense of place.'