A derelict house in the Green Belt is set to be demolished and replaced with a new house despite concerns.

In June last year, plans were submitted to demolish the house at Besom Hill End Farm, which sits on Ripponden Road between Grains Bar and Moorside.

The site includes the derelict building as well as 15 acres of surrounding land and sits north of Besom Hill Country Park.

Following the application's approval, the existing stone building will be replaced with a four-bedroom home.

The existing building The existing building (Image: Google Maps)

The application has been approved despite the fact a separate retrospective application to use the surrounding land to store demolition equipment was rejected on appeal.

According to a planning, design and access statement, the existing farmhouse is "currently in a considerably dilapidated and unsafe state and has suffered from a lack of investment and neglect over many years".

The document goes on to describe the building as an "unattractive structure with no architectural features of significance" which is "considered to be beyond repair".

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The new three-storey home will have a lounge and kitchen area on the ground floor, four bedrooms on the first floor and a study and game room on the second floor.

In total, eight comments were left on the application for the new home, all of which objected to the proposal, with residents raising concerns about how the land was being used.

Some of those who commented took issue with the fact machinery had been moved onto the site before the application had been approved and said they felt the new home might harm the Green Belt.

However, the plans for the new home have been approved.

A historic picture taken on Besom Hill End FarmA historic picture taken on Besom Hill End Farm (Image: Maxine Parker Planning)

This is despite the fact retrospective planning permission to use the surrounding farmland to store demolition equipment and expand the parking area was rejected both by Oldham Council and then by the Planning Inspectorate on appeal in May.

The inspector for the Planning Inspectorate decided that such plans would have been "inappropriate" in the Green Belt.

It means that the plans to demolish and rebuild the home will have to take place without the equipment being stored on the site.