Pembrokeshire County Council planning officers are investigating a development in the centre of a medieval village near Narberth, after objectors to the scheme voiced their concerns about its acceptability.

The development, which consists of industrial farm sheds and a 55-metre slurry lagoon constructed on land in Robeston Wathen, has not been authorised, claim residents, who also fear that the village, which has a Grade Two listed church, and was designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest in 1967, is in the “process of being destroyed”.

One campaigner against the development claimed that the county council had not given the applicant planning permission for the scheme, which has seen the new slurry lagoon positioned in an enlarged ancient quarry next to an iron age fort.

A spokesperson for the county council explained that there was an outstanding application (ref 13/0458/PA) which was reported to the authority’s planning committee three times during 2014 and 2015, with members of the committee resolving to undertake a site visit, on October 22, 2014.

The application was again reported to the planning committee meeting of November 4, 2014, when members deferred it to allow additional information to be submitted by the applicant.

“At a meeting in June 2015, the committee resolved to approve the application with a condition preventing any excavated material (the building was to be dug into the ground to reduce its visual impact) from leaving the site until somewhere was found to dispose of it,” explained the spokesperson.

“However, the applicant started work on the building and moved material off the site before the permission was issued. For that reason, the planning department cannot follow the committee resolution and officers will need to report back on the developments to the committee.

“Therefore, whilst the building is unauthorised, it is a technical breach in the sense that the committee resolved to approve the application, but the applicant was a bit hasty in not waiting for the decision notice,” they continued.

“The main planning issue now is getting the excavated material removed from a watercourse and tipped somewhere else.

“Objectors to the application are concerned about acceptability of the development which has been carried out, with one suggestion that the building erected is larger than what was shown on the plans presented to committee.

“This will be investigated by officers and reported to the planning committee,” added the spokesperson.