A PARISH council has said it has no objection to a farming couple's hopes to gain planning permission for their house after discovering it never had it.

Applicants Mr and Mrs Jackson have submitted an application for a lawful development certificate for an existing use or operation or activity to planners at Malvern Hills District Council.

The application is for a certificate of lawfulness for a property at Newnham Bridge.

A planning statement submitted with the application said Temeside Meadow, which is the house associated with Temeside Meadow Farm, had been built in the late 1970s and has been occupied by the applicants since 1998.

The applicants are also the owners and managers of the farm, the statement said.

But, the statement said, when reviewing the planning history of adjoining farm buildings in order to review options, it had become clear that there was a discrepancy between the position of the home as permitted by planning consent dating to December 1977 and the current Ordnance Survey plan.

"The discrepancy means the planning consent for the house was never implemented and the dwelling was constructed without planning permission," the statement said, confirming that the applicant is now seeking to regularise the planning situation for the house and gain confirmation that the house is lawful.

The statement said the house has been occupied by the applicants for more than 20 years as their sole residence, while aerial imagery attached to the application shows that the house has been in the same position since its construction.

The statement said the application is seeking confirmation that the use of Temeside Meadow as a single dwelling is lawful through the passage of time.

It said the council's planning authority had the opportunity to take enforcement against the construction of the house for up to four years after completion and 10 years after the house was first used, but never did.

In a response to the application, Knighton on Teme Parish Council said it had no objection.

Consultation on the application is open until August 15, with a decision to be made at a later date.