A vision to demolish a host of barns and replace them with several homes has emerged on a picturesque stretch of Teesside.

Documents submitted to Stockton Council show an overhaul is on the cards at Manor Farm, east of Egglescliffe, with plans to convert two barns to create three homes. Papers also show applicant J C Smith wants to knock down seven agricultural buildings on the farmland off Butts Lane and Back Lane to create seven new homes.

The five acre site is bound by a number of listed properties including Manor Farm House and Rose Cottage. Nearby grade II listed Old Hall is being renovated as part of a separate 2020 plan for four homes nearby.

It isn’t the first time land off Butts Lane has been lined up for development. Permission on the stretch was granted in 2015 to redevelop redundant farmland for 12 homes by a different applicant.

This was on top of a pass for four barn conversions, three new homes, and plans to reinstate the derelict Old Hall to its former glory that same year. Access to the new development would be via Back Lane with an ”intimate courtyard type arrangement” the aim.

The homes would be three, four and bedrooms in size ranging from one to two-and-a-half storeys high – with the developer saying the scale would “not be dissimilar” to that found elsewhere in the village. Meanwhile, plans show the agricultural building lined up would be six metres high and “appropriate” to the farmed area.

A report on behalf of the developer argued the plans will have enough parking and would not bring significant detrimental harm to the wider landscape. It states: “The proposals will provide new, high-quality houses, converting existing buildings where appropriate and replacing those of poor quality.

“(It will) ensure the long-term prosperity of the farm, make a positive contribution towards the council maintaining a five-year housing land supply, and not introduce a land use that has not been approved previously on the site.”