COUNCILLORS have demanded a shelter for agricultural equipment should be ripped down, 12 months after it was put in place.

Ribble Valley planning and development committee ruled the large shed, at Newlands, Ribchester Road, Hothersall, near Longridge, contravened planning regulations because the owner of the property was not involved in agriculture.

Strict planning rules allow for large structures to be built in open countryside only if they are needed for agricultral business to continue on site. But officers advised the committee that the owner of the property used the shed to only store equipment used on land for his family's pet ponies and horses.

The application was submitted retrospectively but councillors refused to give it their backing and authorised officers to begin enforcement action against the owner.

Complaints about the building had come in thick and fast. The area's parish council stated the building was too close to neighbouring properties and should not be permitted because it was not being used for proper agricultural purposes.

They added that there were less prominent locations were it could have been sited.

Ribble Valley's rural estates manager, a council officer, also questioned the need for such a large building, stating that the tractors the owner had were not very expensive and were unlikely to be stolen.

Nearby residents also objected on the grounds that they felt it had been sited as far away from the applicant's house as possible but too close to other properties.

A spokesman for the council said: "There is insufficent agricultural justification for the building in its current siting so the building is contary to planning policy."