A family have had their plea to build a ‘forever home’ in a sought-after South Devon village turned down.

South Hams Council planners said they were sorry to say no to the plan to modernise a home in Stokenham, but they agreed with their officers that the proposed building was too big.

The officers’ report from to the development control committee said: “The proposed rear second storey extension by virtue of its scale, massing, and design, would appear as an incongruous and unsympathetic addition to the host property, resulting in an unacceptable detrimental impact on the dwelling and street scene.”

Homeowner Mark Baldwin had told the meeting that the house in Grenville Close is a ‘very tired 1950s bungalow’.

He wanted to build extensions and dormers with new windows and cladding, a new driveway and landscaping.

He said: “We are a young family who want to make this our forever home, and Stokenham our forever village.

“This means more than just a renovation. It means anchoring us and securing us to our village, and raising our family in a safe environment.

“Our project will set a high bar of excellence within the area.”

Ward councillor Julian Brazil (Lib Dem, Stokenham) said bungalows in and around Grenville Close needed modernising, and Mr Baldwin’s proposal was ‘exciting and innovative’ as well as being ‘an exemplar’ of insulation and energy conservation.

But Cllr Jacqi Hodgson (Green, Dartington and Staverton) said: “It’s nice to try and help a family improve a property, but what would be really good for the people living there, everybody else would have to look at.

“It’s about the massing. I hope the applicant will come back with something a bit more modest.”

And Cllr Guy Pannell added: “We have to bear in mind that we are considering permission for a building, not for the family.”

The application was refused by five votes to four.