'Truly stunning' design for farmhouse approved by councillors

East Riding councillors passed the plans for the house by architect John Rhodes near Holme Upon Spalding Moor on Thursday, despite officers' recommendation of refusal.

The plans had previously been passed by members of the western area planning committee.

The Barnes Wallis Barn will be the home of Mr Rhodes and his wife, Zaila, who is a vet, who currently live in London, while also providing work space.

Councillor John Whittle said much of his 13 years on the committee had been "trudging through a desert of stultifying mediocrity" but said this was a "truly stunning design" which "fits superbly into its context".

He added: "It looks like one of those houses you would go out of your way to visit."

Coun Geraldine Mathieson added: "It is fabulous. I think we should be embracing this kind of thing."

The plans include an agricultural barn which be used as a B&B or vet clinic and a design studio, with a "sky snug" upstairs while the main house will be set off by a "contemporary dynamic floating pavilion".

The design also features a mini ha ha - a type of sunken wall that was commonly used in landscaped gardens and parks in the eighteenth century - and new woodland planting.

Howden was the home of the 1920's famous rigid airship R80, designed by aeronautical engineer Barnes Wallis and the roof structure will take inspiration from his revolutionary geodesic design for airframes.