A HOUSE regarded as a local landmark by villagers in Greenmount is to be demolished by its new owner.

Plans to pull down the "Dutch House" on Holcombe Road and replace it with a new detached home have been given the go-ahead .

Villager say the £295,000 valued house, sold last year to Mr Darrell Brooks, is one of only three in the country. Built in 1938, it features a rare Dutch gable and mansard roof.

However, Mr Brooks says that leaking roof tiles and failed damp proofing have made the house no longer viable. The building is not listed and does not lie within a conservation area.

Councillors met to decide upon the application on Tuesday (Jan 20), but were not allowed to see the interior.

In a letter to members, Mr Brooks said that the porous roof tiles had caused joists to rot, and that ground floor damp proofing had failed.

He added that the kitchen and the bathroom, along with electrical wiring, also needed to be replaced.

Planning members were told the scale of the problem had grown so great that the family had to sleep downstairs over Christmas.

However, Holcombe Road resident Joan Edwards said she believed the problems had been exaggerated.

Speaking at the meeting, she said: "I was last in the house 16 months ago. The last owner was very meticulous and it really was in good order."

Planning member Councillor Yvonne Wright agreed that the house could not be in such a state of disrepair.

She said: "To say that conditions were so bad is frankly insulting our intelligence.

"I want the Dutch House to stay and I will be voting for it to stay."

However, her colleague Coun Dorothy Gunther said the committee had no power to save the building.

Coun Gunther said: "I know the area and sympathise. It is a lovely building and I find it such an unusual situation that anybody would buy a house and demolish it."

Coun Alan Matthews added: "I'm really sorry that I have to vote along with the recommendation to approve because I would really like to see the house retained as it is."

Members of the committee voted by seven votes to four in favour of the application.