A COUPLE facing eviction from their home have said they will continue the fight to stay on farmland near North Nibley.

Emma and Rodney Bird are due to hear this week whether or not a third application to allow temporary accommodation at their smallholding, Bird Farm at Stancombe, will be approved.

Stroud District Council threw out two previous applications last year because planning bosses feared it would set a precedent of allowing development in the countryside. The applications also attracted fierce opposition from the local community.

Mr and Mrs Bird, who breed alpacas as well as sell eggs, told the Gazette this week that they will go to appeal if this third application is not successful.

Mrs Bird said: "We decided to put in another application before we go to appeal.

"We are fully prepared to take it to appeal, we’ve got everything ready to do that."

Mrs Bird added they would prefer it if the application were referred to the council’s development control committee for a decision and was not decided by an officer.

"We feel we have a fair chance if there are a few people making the decision," she said.

However, if the application fails the couple face eviction from their farm because of a pending enforcement notice. The enforcement is against a caravan the pair moved into at the farm without permission.

A spokesman for Stroud District Council said: "Enforcement action was previously authorised, however as a revised application is currently under consideration, it has been suspended until the outcome of the application is determined."

The current application has attracted more than 70 comments from the public, many of which are objections concerning the effect the development has on the Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty.

Mark Frith, of North Nibley, said: "This application is clearly a disguised attempt to build a residential dwelling outside the current planning rules and should not be allowed."

Nicholas Barlow, from nearby Stancombe Park, said: "This is an area of outstanding beauty and should not be polluted by unauthorised buildings."

Mr and Mrs Bird have said since the applications last year they have created links with South Gloucestershire and Stroud College building a stronger business case.

Mrs Bird said: "There is no way into farming any more and we think with the state of the economy they should be encouraging people like us."