Outline plans to build 13 new homes on the site of an existing farm in a small north Cumbrian village have been given the green light.

Allerdale council's development control panel approved outline planning permission for the building of 13 new homes in Gilcrux, south west of Aspatria.

The outline plans, which were approved on Tuesday in the panel's first ever virtual meeting, sought permission to build the new homes on the current Chapel Farm site in the village, which is to be demolished as per the plans.

The panel also resolved to approve the relocation of this farm to a new site outside the village, subject to a completed and signed section 106 agreement ensuring both sites did not operate as farms at the same time.

Originally proposing nine new homes, the applicant increased the number to 13 to accommodate the building of affordable housing, meaning if built the new homes would increase the size of the village by nine per cent.

One letter of objection from a member of the public was read out during the meeting.

"We feel the community infrastructure would not support a further 13 families," the letter read.

"A development of four to five houses would be more appropriate."

Alan Smith, one of all but two of the 12 councillors to vote in approval of the plans, said development needed to take place in villages such as Gilcrux to maintain the amenities they still had.

Janet Farebrother voted against the outline plans, and in addressing her concerns one point she raised was that many farms were leaving villages.

"A village without farms is just a suburb in the middle of nowhere," she said.

Malcolm Grainger was one of several councillors who said that farms moving out of villages was in response to changing conditions:

In the past in Gilcrux, "there was eight dairy farms", he said. "Farms are in larger units now. The village farmers are a thing of the past now, so they're having to find ways of diversifying."

Will Wilkinson was the other councillor who voted against the 13 homes plans, saying that more information was needed on the likely impact of the new homes, including how it would affect local schools.