THE owners of the Westons Cider site at Much Marcle have been given planning permission for two buildings to be used as storage.

Together the buildings cover half a hectare and along with 24 silos will enable the brewer to store 200,000 litres.

The green metal-clad warehouses, 16 metres tall at the eaves, were to store palletised bottles of cider produced at the site before distribution.

A continuing rise in cider production and sales has led to a shortage of warehouse space, the firm’s application said, forcing it to take on additional storage elsewhere.

But a landscape and visual appraisal accompanying the proposal in Much Marcle acknowledged the scheme would be likely to have a major adverse effect on the character of the local landscape.

Addressing this, Herefordshire Council’s senior landscape officer Mandy Neill said:” Landscaping measures should be fully addressed,” adding that painting the silos matt green ‘should reduce the visual impact to some extent of these tall and visually intrusive structures’.

Planning officer Josh Bailey concluded that the extra storage facilities would increase the efficiency and allow for the continued growth of the business, which was an aim of local and national planning policy.

The site is already home to a restaurant, tearoom, visitor centre, heritage centre and shop. The company employs over 200 mostly local workers.