LACOCK needs people living in it, not more holiday cottages, residents warned this week.

The National Trust wants planning permission to use a four-bedroom cottage on the High Street as a holiday let.

The 14th-century cottage is in need of considerable conservation work. The Trust will spend a six-figure sum to undertake structural repairs, and says the investment will be repaid through the fees charged for lettings.

But residents say the village will suffer if more cottages are turned into holiday homes, as the school and local industry will struggle to survive.

Chris Doel, chairman of Lacock Parish Council, said: "We feel that it is the thin edge of the wedge. It is a house that will be taken away from local people being able to rent it.

"If it is a holiday home, that will be most commercially advantageous. The cottage has always been a home and the Trust has never suffered before."

Graham Heard, National Trust property manager for Lacock, said: "We have 89 cottages in the village, which are predominantly let to local people. Our remit as a conservation charity is to preserve special places, for ever, for everyone. We will be able to offer many more people the chance to come and sample living in this wonderful location, even if only for a week at a time."