PLANS have been revealed for building three detached dwellings on the expansive grounds of a historic estate currently being transformed into apartments.

Consent to divide the grade II-listed Portskewett House into residential accommodation was previously approved, including a four-bedroom residence at the back and a two-bedroom flat at the front.

Monmouthshire County Council’s planning department is examining the submission, lodged by G Rowell on behalf of Westwise Construction from Rochdale, regarding the three standalone houses proposed on either side of the existing vehicle access from Main Road.

Two houses would occupy the left side of the main structure’s front aspect, along with parking spaces, while the third would sit on the right side accompanied by extensive permeable block paving covering the area in front of the current building and between the new structures.

Papers concerning landscape improvements, including details for removing and replanting trees and hedgerows, have also been sent to the council. The authority gave its approval for the conversion of the property into flats last December.

A supporting statement confirms that the existing Monkey Puzzle Tree at the entrance will be maintained.

According to the documentation, the Tree Report commissioned on behalf of the client advised careful management and replanting of vegetation along the southern boundary next to the road. The report indicated that the large Monkey Puzzle tree near the entrance will be kept and that a substantial part of the front lawn will remain as a grassed area.

The submission indicates that hedgerows along the entrance and Main Road will be replaced, while vegetation including three trees on the left side of the entrance and another tree on the right side, where the detached dwelling is planned, will be cleared.

Portskewett House is described as an unaltered Tudor Revival villa dating from around the 1840s, with suggestions the building may have originally served as a dower house, which was accommodation built for a widow on her late husband’s estate.