FIVE warehouses have been clad in the wrong shade of grey at a Somerset farm which could prove to be a costly admin error.

Newbridge Farm, in East Huntspill, gained planning permission to demolish agricultural buildings and replace them with five warehouses for poultry.

Sedgemoor District Council insisted on a number of conditions – including one stating the buildings should have darker colour cladding.

But the building’s roof and walls have been clad in the original, lighter shade of grey and the farm said it would be “prohibitively expensive to replace them.”

Applicant Amber Real Estate Investments said in documents supporting the application: “Due to an error during the construction process, the five poultry shed roofs have been clad in goosewing grey panels.

“The buildings, including the roof covering, were completed in October 2016. Consideration has been given to replacing the existing roofs on the buildings, but this has proved to be prohibitively expensive and operationally disruptive to the ongoing agricultural activity at the site.”

Following the error, the applicant hired Pegasus Landscape Design to carry out a landscape assessment in order to assess the impact of the existing roof colouring on the surrounding area.

“It has been concluded that the retention of the goosewing grey cladding panels on the roofs of the existing five poultry sheds would not result in a harmful impact on the character of the area or the wider landscape,” the applicant said.

If the cladding has to be replaced, it would result in the farm’s buildings being empty of birds for 12 weeks which would result in a loss of 600,000 birds from food production.

The cladding issue is the subject of a reserved matters application which has been sent to the council.

The applicants have proposed to plant a large conifer hedge around the building to shield it from view. In their supporting statement, the applicants said: “With good growing conditions the coniferous hedge should be capable of screening the roofs of buildings within three years.”

The district council says people can comment on the plans until December 1.

A spokesman for Sedgemoor District Council said: “The planning application is out for consultation at present and will be discussed at a committee meeting.

“Basically, because of the size and scale of the building, it is the colour of the cladding which is the issue. The applicants have put in for enhanced landscaping scheme which would, they think, get over the fact that it is the wrong colour and the visual impact.”