COUNTY planners are writing to Wales’ First Minister in a bid to save a decaying Jacobean mansion from ruin.

The owner of Troy House on the edge of Monmouth was given permission by Monmouthshire planners last year to convert the crumbling Grade II-listed building into 50 apartments.

But last month the Welsh Government overruled the decision on the grounds of flood risk, overdevelopment in the countryside and concerns for the archaeology of the gardens.

Councillors at the recent planning committee meeting expressed “disappointment and frustration” and said they would not take it “lying down”.

They agreed to write to First Minister Mark Drakeford to invite him to see the historic house – described as ‘a jewel of the Wye Valley’ – for himself.

Monmouthshire planning officer Craig O’Connor told the planning committee the ruling meant there were now “significant concerns” over the future of the building.

“We are frustrated with the decision. We are concerned about how we deal with this site going forward,” he said.

Labour councillor Roger Harris said the committee felt “devastated” by the Welsh Government’s decision.

“This is such a fantastic building in such a fantastic site that we should not take this lying down,” he added.