Farmer Charles Butcher has been granted permission to build a home for his son, but has been told he must tie his own house to the farm.

Mr Butcher, of Sleight Farm had applied for outline planning permission for the house for his son Fred, who helps him run the farm.

A similar application was turned down in March on the grounds that it could not be justified in agricultural terms and council officers had recommended the new scheme for refusal at last Thursday's regulatory committee.

But Mr Butcher's representative, Geoffrey Taylor, said the family had run the farm for the last 50 years and were not opportunists.

Mr Taylor said: "There are 400 cattle, including calves, and they can only be looked after by people living on the farm. It needs two people to run the farm."

Coun Clyde Hoddinott, himself a farmer, agreed livestock needed 24-hour supervision.

Senior planning officer Mike Wilmott said if councillors approved the scheme, they should not only tie the new home to the farm, but also the existing farmhouse.

He said: "This is common practice suggested by the Government. If the existing house was not tied, it could be sold off and then the applicant could claim that council had accepted the principle that two houses were needed on the farm and apply to erect another one."