THE NATIONAL Trust has redesigned its contentious plans to modernise a cowshed in Morvah as part of its flagship organic dairy herd project.

Last August, neighbouring residents to Trevean Farm in West Penwith started a campaign against the Trust's plans to replace the existing dilapidated cubicle house. They said the development to accommodate more than 100 cattle and sheep was too close to their boundary, causing serious noise, smell and light pollution problems.

Issues

The original three-year project involved building a new cattle shed measuring 20 metres by 46 metres by six metres. But residents sharing a boundary with the proposed development said the cow shed should be built at least 100 metres away from their homes as opposed to 45 metres.

After months of work, the Trust will unveil its new plans at an open afternoon to be held at the farm next Wednesday.

It says the latest proposal provides good animal welfare and is visually appropriate to the landscape around it.

Guy Clegg, National Trust farm conservation manager at Trevean, said: "It is essential that we have a new cattle shed as the existing cubicle house is in very poor condition and not set up for our standards of animal welfare.

"However, given the sensitivities of where we are required by the environmental health officer to place the building at Trevean, we also want to make sure that the design is sympathetic to the surrounding landscape.

"Some of the design ideas we are now discussing with local people involve breaking up the original large building into smaller ones, partly digging the structure into the ground to reduce the height and using dark, mat roofing materials as well as other materials to blend in with the landscape."

Neighbour Bob Hitch was among those opposing residents who claimed the plans had been submitted without consulting the local community.

He remains sceptical saying: "We haven't seen the plans but I believe it involves two buildings and the volume of the two buildings is going to be much larger.

"They said they would take local opinion into account but we do not know that until we see the plans."

Sceptical

But Jon Brookes, the Trust's property manager for West Penwith, stresses the organisation is committed to protecting and enhancing the area.

He added: "Trevean Farm is part of a much wider project to care for the landscape and conservation value of this very important area, and this is for the benefit of the local community, tourists and everyone who cherishes this place."

"We are also committed to farming in a sustainable way while demonstrating financial viability and Trevean is a flagship farm for us in this."