A vision to turn the former home of wing commander Ken Wallis into an occasional wedding venue has been approved for take-off.

Breckland Council has approved controversial plans to renovate Reymerston Hall, near Dereham into a wedding venue with bed and breakfast facilities for guests.

The application, which was submitted by the hall's owner Elizabeth Holbrook, divided local opinion with some neighbours and the Campaign to Protect Rural England raising concerns that noise and light pollution from functions might disrupt the tranquillity of the area.

But Mrs Holbrook, who intends to live at the hall and host occasional weddings countered concerns by saying she would not want to see the area become anything other than peaceful.

Ahead of the council's decision on Monday she said: "We want our neighbours to understand that the venue part is being designed to cancel out any noise and we would use all our own equipment - there won't be egotistical DJs coming along ramping up the sound because they won't be able to.

"But most importantly, it will also be my family home and I am as sensitive to noise as anyone - the occasional small wedding is purely to subsidise the upkeep of the home."

In a report on the proposal, Chris Hobson, an officer from Capita, Breckland council's out-sourced planning department, recommended it for approval.

He said: "The development will create a viable use to ensure the longer term retention of this nationally important designated heritage asset."

However, to mitigate the concerns around noise Mr Hobson proposed limits be placed on the hours the site is used for weddings and that it be equipped with noise limiting devices.

The application was approved by Breckland Council's planning committee on Monday September 2.