An arts venue in the Ledbury has seen off moves to stop it hosting drinking and live music.

The 17th-century St Katherine’s Barn, marketed simply as The Barn, lies within Ledbury’s conservation area next to the St Katherine’s Hall and the Master’s House.

In 2018, Robin Oakey and Lynn Jones “turned it from a wreck into a bright and vibrant creative space” hosting regular exhibitions and events, their website explains.

They regularly champion local artists and host music events which are incredibly popular with the people of Ledbury.

The Barn also sells plants making it a popular venue for gardeners. But in September last year, Herefordshire Council issued them with an enforcement notice requiring them to stop using it as a bar and music venue, saying it only had permission to operate as a gallery and café.

“The use of the building for these additional purposes is causing significant harm to the amenity of nearby residents through excess noise,” the notice said.

Robin and Lynn appealed against this, contending that while alcohol is indeed sold and live music played at the venue, this did not amount to a material change of use.

Planning inspector H Davies has now backed their claim, concluding that the limited scale and frequency of these other uses of The Barn “can be considered incidental to the primary uses, rather than as separate and additional primary uses, [which] have not changed”.

Lynn said she was relieved to have won her appeal against the enforcement notice. She said: "I am very  relieved, but also very happy for all our customers, as so many of them look on it as an important place for them to frequent."