A BROADMAYNE family have been told they can have a shepherd’s hut in their Main Street garden.

Although it will be used mainly for use by family and friends it can also be let for short-term holiday stays.

Dorset Council, in agreeing to the application for the garden of the Old Forge, 35 Main Street, have set out several conditions.

The council says the plot to be used must be specified in agreement with a planning officer; that the hut should not exceed 7 metres in length, 3.5 metres in depth and 3.2 metres in height, from ground level.

The external materials for the shepherd’s has to be either timber or corrugated sheet metal cladding for the walls, and sheet metal cladding for the roof, with the proposed finish to the walls and roof, including paint colour, to be agreed by the council planning team prior to the shepherd’s hut being put in place.