RESIDENTS of a small hamlet in the Monnow Valley, on the Herefordshire-Monmouthshire borders, are trying to halt works which they say are spoiling medieval barns in the village. The residents, who live at Llanrothal, just six miles from Monmouth, are up in arms after a team of workmen from Stourbridge-based building firm J.Guest descended on a complex of medieval barns and started smashing holes in the stone walls to make windows. Campaigners, who have formed themselves into a Llanrothal Barns Action Group, say the move came just days after the barns at Llanrothal had been given Grade II listing by the Department of Culture, Media and Sport. Among the reasons given for the listing was the fact that the barns had remained substantially unaltered for several hundred years. A survey of the buildings that was carried out by English Heritage in the autumn, coincided with an applications by property speculators, Guild Homes, of Stourbridge, to turn the barns complex, which dates back to the 17th century and lies 2.5 miles from the nearest main road, into eleven semi- detached houses. When this application was rejected by the council, and the builders were also told to stop work because the barns are home to colonies of pipistrelle, long-eared, and horseshoe bats, all of which are protected species, a second planning application, with only minor changes was quickly submitted. In the meantime, J Guest Builders started work laying plumbing and concrete flooring in the old buildings to suit the plans they were hoping to have the Council agree. The recommendation by English Heritage, that the barns should be listed as Grade II, stated: "This is an impressive, early group of agricultural buildings (that dates back to the 17th century) that have special interest for their survival of original fabric. A spokesman for the action group said on Tuesday "Many thousands of historic farm buildings survive nationally, the vast majority dating from the period of high farming in the mid 19th century. Those buildings that pre-date this era are rare in the national context". The listing notification from the Department of Culture Media and Sport added: "This evolved farm building complex is rare and of special architectural interest on account of its age and completeness and therefore merits designation". Now the barns are listed, it is believed that no work should be carried out on the fabric of the buildings until it has been approved by the council's conservation and planning departments, say local residents. The spokesman said the builders seemed to be widening arrow slit windows, removing stonework and inserting doorways as quickly as possible, despite the fact that no permission has been given for changes to a listed building. "A Council Planning Enforcement Officer visited the site last week, but that had no effect at all and the builders seem to have completely ignored him. "We can only presume the aim of the speculator is to do as much work as possible, as quickly as possible. Perhaps believing that by the time the Council does end up trying to protect these barns, so much will have been done that no one will be able to remember what they looked like before. "As the English Heritage survey said, a week ago they were lined with arrow slit windows and largely original. Now most of the arrow slits have gone and been turned into ordinary windows. "No doubt they are hoping to force the Council's hand to come to a compromise. The fact that they are disturbing protected wildlife and destroying a valuable piece of history here in the Monnow Valley seems to count for very little" the campaign spokesman added. Mr Jeff Guest, head of the firm of contractors, told The Beacon on Tuesday that planning permission for the works had been applied for by the farmer who originally owned the land. Mr Guest said his firm had acquired the buildings and was now working within the conditions contained in the original planning consent. "We have got permission for everything we are doing" he said, adding that his firm was long established and well known in Herefordshire. "We are not about knocking about these old buildings" he added.