A rule requiring a Herefordshire house to be occupied by a farm worker has been dropped after its owner showed this had not been the case for 18 years.

The half-timbered Court House, Rowlestone near Pontrilas was granted planning permission in 1999 so long as it housed a local worker in agriculture or in forestry, their widow or widower, and any dependants.

But an application for a certificate of lawfulness by Mr M A Williams, backed by a sworn statement, said that this had not been the case since 2006. Planning breaches of this type cease to be enforceable after ten years.

Planning officer Josh Bailey said that as no information to contradict Mr Williams’ “sufficiently precise and unambiguous sworn evidence” had been submitted, he was prepared to grant the certificate of lawfulness.

“It is probable that the dwellinghouse known as Court House has been occupied in breach of the agricultural occupancy restriction for a period in excess of 10 years, and the period in which enforcement action could be taken against the breach of condition has now expired,” he concluded.

Built by local firm Border Oak Design and Construction which specialises in traditional oak-framed buildings, the three-bedroom house was described in the initial planning application as “an agricultural worker’s dwelling” intended for a stockman.

This described the applicants, Mr Williams’ parents, as owner-occupiers of nearby Rowlestone Court Farm, a 300-acre mixed dairy farm.