A RESIDENT of one of West Devon's most historic buildings has hit out at the borough council for making a mockery of its own rules by leaving part of the structure looking like a 'tin shack'. An urgent works notice was served on the Grade II* Devon longhouse at Sessland near Spreyton a year ago to stop the building falling down. But Clara Hooper, who lives in one end of it, says the council has a responsibility to see the building is repaired fully. The part of the building in question has been unoccupied since 2001 and is in a different ownership to the part in which Mrs Hooper lives with her family. But the owners of the other part of the building say they are preparing a planning application to carry out further works. Work was carried out earlier this year to erect a tin roof where there used to be thatch. Mrs Hooper said: 'We want to rethatch our home but we don't feel we can until we know what the council is doing with the rest of the building. 'They seem quite happy to have scaffolding there indefinitely and a corrugated and sheeted roof, but when you have to jump through hoops to get listed building consent to do anything on an historic building, to leave it looking like a tin shack makes a mockery of the whole thing.' Mrs Hooper said there was a gap between the top of the cob wall and the tin roof which meant the recent driving wind and rain came into the building and her daughter had not been able to sleep in her bedroom for four years because it was deemed unsafe. Conservation officer Roger Duce said he would love to see the building fully restored but this was outside his power. He said it would be up to the local member and the planning committee to bring the issue forward. He said: 'My concern was that we were going to lose this listed building if we did not do something. 'It has suffered ten years of neglect but following the urgent repairs which were carried out by the owner I no longer have these concerns. 'As far as listings go, this farmhouse is top-notch but we have not had a proposal from the owner to do any more work.' Mr Duce added that the council could not issue a repairs notice which would mean a full restoration of the building because it would have resulted in the authority having to compulsory purchase the building and that was not its policy. He said he would favourably consider an historic buildings grant application from the owners of the building to rethatch the roof. Darren Pitts, who jointly owns part of the longhouse with other members of his family, said they had complied with everything the council had requested on the urgent works notice and were currently in the process of putting together a planning application to carry out further works. A spokesman for English Heritage said: 'Lower Sessland Farmhouse is a medieval building listed at Grade II*, which appears on the English Heritage Buildings At Risk Register — a list of the nation's most vulnerable and significant historic buildings. 'The building has a thatched roof and original timbers, as well as a good interior. 'The part of the building most at risk is a 17th century addition to the main house, which still retains its original roof trusses.'