Planning officers have recommended that an application to build 50 homes in Pirton should be approved.

A final decision on the plans, for land next to Walnut Tree Road, will be made by North Herts Council's planning committee at a meeting on Thursday, September 3.

The site is made up of two fields on the east side of Pirton and is not within the Green Belt.

North Herts Council currently has a two-and-a-half-year supply of land for housing, far below the expected minimum of five years.

It means it is currently more difficult for the authority to block unwanted developments.

Planning officers said the new homes would be "a logical extension of the village that would make an important contribution towards market and affordable housing land supply within the district".

They concluded that there would be harm through losing agricultural land in a rural area, but judged that these should carry "limited" weight compared to the "significant" benefits of providing 50 new homes.

Twenty of the homes on the site would be classed as affordable, according to the Government definition, with the remaining 30 homes available at market rate.

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During a public consultation on the proposals, 116 people wrote to object while one wrote in support.

Objectors have raised concerns about the development worsening traffic in the area, and losing green space.

If the application is approved, the developer would be expected to pay £1.49 million towards education in the area – including the expansion of Pirton Primary School and The Priory Secondary School – as well as £800,000 towards transport and highways improvements and substantial contributions to other local infrastructure.