Plan for barn dedicated to bee rearing

A plan has been put forward to build a barn dedicated to bee rearing in the Herefordshire countryside.

To house bee-keeping and “queen rearing and product processing” equipment, the steel-framed building would sit on a triangular plot of land by Yarpole Lane north of Leominster, under the proposal submitted for planning permission (number 243205) by town resident John Fisher.

Mr Fisher, who according to his application has run a bee-keeping business for over ten years, also plans an outside area for beehives, along with a small new native-species woodland, wildflower meadow and pond on the half-hectare site, currently pasture.

“These are part of his overall strategy to ensure the bees and other pollinators can thrive,” his bid explains.

Lying behind the existing roadside hedge, the “modest” barn building would be 3.6 metres high at the eaves and 5 metres at the ridge, with walls clad in dark green sheeting, a roller shutter door and grey composite roof.

It would be accessed via the existing gate onto Yarpole Lane.

Comments on the application can be made until March 6.