A full planning application must be submitted and approved before plans to convert a Rudyard agricultural building into a home can begin, the council has said.

A change of use prior approval notification was submitted to Staffordshire Moorlands District Council seeking permission to convert a barn at Barnes Lea Farm, Reacliffe Road in Rudyard into a residential home.

A planning statement submitted as part of the plans explained how the barn was intended to be converted.

It said: "The building would be converted into a seven bed dwellinghouse, comprising kitchen/dining area, two bedrooms (with ensuites), WC, hall, games room and lounge on the ground floor and five bedrooms (with ensuites) across the first floor.

"The application is accompanied by plans which display a sensitive conversion that retains much of the building's existing agricultural character, particularly when viewed from public vantage points.

"The dwellinghouse would be accessed via the existing agricultural access directly off Reacliffe Road. Parking for up to four. vehicles would be provided for the house within the proposed residential curtilage."

It concludes: "The proposed conversion would not unacceptably impact upon the safe or efficient use of the highway network, would not give rise to any unacceptable noise impacts, would not increase flood risk and is not at risk from contamination. The proposed dwelling is not situated in close proximity to any other uses which are incompatible with residential use. Residential use is not therefore impractical or undesirable in this location

"The external alterations to the buildings in this scheme have been sensitively designed to respect the agricultural character of the existing building and its rural surroundings and consist of the insertion of new windows and doors to provide a functional but attractive internal living environment. They are reasonably necessary for the building to function as a dwelling."

However, the council's planning officers have ruled that a full planning application must be submitted and subsequently approved before the work can begin.

A report by the council's officers says: "In terms of planning-related impacts, the proposed building has an unacceptable design and appearance ... and therefore the application should be refused.

"It therefore cannot be converted ... and therefore a full planning application would be required for the change of use to residential."