The former village stores in the heart of a beautiful Somerset village could soon be turned into four houses.

Whitecross House in East Harptree was the village stores until the mid-2000s, when they closed and another opened across the road. But the house is “oversized” and now a planning application has been submitted to Bath and North East Somerset Council to divide the house and turn the property into four different houses.

Whitecross House itself would be subdivided to form two three-bedroom houses under the plans, with the houses’s former stables and workshop to be converted into another separate two-bedroom home, and a new two-bedroom cottage also built on the property. The existing single-storey off Whitecross House would be replaced with a two-storey extension to meet the style of the original building.

A planning statement submitted with the plans said: “The proposed mix of residential units will provide a range of different types and sizes of housing needed in the local area. The proposal contains two larger family-sized units as well as smaller one- and two-bedroom dwellings, which are aimed to meet the needs of young people and older people wishing to downsize.”

You can view and comment on the plans here.