TWO County Durham barns just metres from a ancient Roman fort could be turned into three holiday cottages, a planning application has revealed.

The buildings are located in Ebchester, which is known to have been established on the ancient Roman fort Vindomora, which was first built in AD 80.

The fort is thought to have been constructed when the Roman road of Dere Street was extended from York to Corbridge.

Remains of the Roman fort are largely buried under more modern developments, however, the excavated remains of a Roman bath lie just approximately 20m south east of the proposed development and the area also falls under a scheduled ancient monument listing.

The buildings appear to have been previously used as a single-storey milking barn and neighbouring cattle shed, with a hayloft above it.

The application proposes the creation of a one-bedroomed holiday apartment in the single storey building, alongside a two-bedroomed apartment.

The proposal also includes the conversion of the larger two-storey barn into a single, two-bedroomed holiday cottage, with an open plan living arrangement.

The design and access statement that accompanies the plan states that the “significance” of the fort within County Durham cannot be overlooked and states that the proposed development will have little impact on the scheduled ancient monument.

It continues to add: "It is believed that the scheme will have neutral or minor positive impact on the fort, allowing the history and development of the site over time to be read."

  • Also in applications this week, a building in Shotley Bridge could have its first and second floors converted into a self-contained holiday-let apartment.

The building was previously known as 'The Bank' and and since then has been used as an estate agents and a small shop selling women's accessories.

The building could see the remodelling of the ground floor estate agents to incorporate a new kitchen and toilet area and the upper floors could be converted into a self-contained holiday-let apartment.

The proposal primarily relates to minor interior changes to the existing building and making better use of the unoccupied space above the commercial unit and converting it to residential use.

The proposed development would have no major impact on the existing conservative area and any external changes would not affect the Front Street facade as the work would be to the rear.