FOUR agricultural sheds to provide year round shelter for alpacas are planned.

Tamara Jaftha is applying to Northumberland County Council to grant permission for the erection of four agricultural field shelters, at Housty Farm, in Catton.

Mrs Jaftha purchased the 85 acre land, which is situated in the North Pennines Area of Outstanding Beauty, in January after the site lay empty for three years.

She currently has 14 alpacas, which will grow to up to 40 after a breeding programme, and wants to create the huts to provide shelter to the animals from the weather conditions.

Agents YoungsRPS, working on Mrs Jaftha's behalf, said that consultation with the North Pennines AONB Partnership prior to the submission of the application showed that the organisation felt the plans were of a modest scale appropriate to such a rural setting.

The siting of the shelters would be more than 200m away from any residential properties, which would be sufficient distance, according to the application.