A COUPLE who protested that their rented farmhouse was damp and in poor repair have failed in an appeal for the right to replace it.

John and Vivienne Bussey have given notice to leave their home at Marwood Green Farm, near Barnard Castle, where they have lived for 18 years.

Their application to build a replacement property nearby was rejected by Teesdale District Council, so they appealed at a planning hearing in Barnard Castle last month.

Yesterday, planning inspector Zoe Hill rejected their claim, saying that as they would be operating a new farm system there was no way of knowing if it would be financially sound.

She pointed out that a new house in open countryside could be justified only if a unit had been in operation for at least three years and had accounts to show its viability.

The farm is owned by the Hon Harry Vane, son of Lord Barnard, and is part of Marwood Estate.

The inspector said the couple, who have two children, said the farmhouse was unsatisfactory because of damp, mould and poorly drawing fires.

She said: "Although such building deficiencies are not to be condoned, to my mind they are matters which could be remedied.

"The fact that the appellants are not prepared to finance this work is not sufficient to warrant a new dwelling."

The couple also said that old farm buildings rented from the estate were no longer suitable for livestock or modern machinery.

The inspector said: "Having seen the buildings, I concur with that view. Thus they need to invest in new farm buildings."

Mr and Mrs Bussey are due to leave the house and 57 hectares of rented land in April. They will farm adjoining land which they already own and on which they want to make their home.

Mr Bussey said yesterday there was no possibility of the couple trying to buy or continue renting the farmhouse.

"I just don't know what we will do now. We got an awful shock when the decision arrived this morning, and haven't had time to think it out yet," he said.

The couple were said at the hearing to have farmed extremely well, making a profit, even in a year affected by foot-and-mouth disease.