A HOUSEHOLDER has been told she does not have to pull down a porch at the front of her barn property in Dilworth Bottoms, Ribchester.

Members of the Ribble Valley planning and development committee was told the porch contravened planning regulations and was an eyesore.

The meeting heard the porch and a matching garage were erected before householder Janet Anderson bought the property.

Planning permission for the garage had been granted, but the porch had been constructed without consent, councillors were told.

Janet Anderson told the meeting in the Ribble Valley Council Chamber that the porch added to the security of the property and protected it from the weather.

"The porch is totally in keeping with the property and I had no idea it contravened planning regulations when I bought the house," she said.

Ribchester Parish Council said it deplored the common practice of building before had been planning permission granted,

Planning officer John Macholc wanted the porch to be pulled down. He added: "We can not be influenced by the fact that the porch is in keeping with the rest of the property.

"It represents an inappropriate addition to a visually prominent property and detracts from the character of a former agricultural building."

Councillors gave the porch the thumbs-up on the grounds that seeking its removal when consent had been given for a matching garage at the site would be incongruous.