Plans to build 300 homes on the southern edge of Little Wymondley have been unanimously approved by North Herts Council's planning committee.

Councillors voted to grant planning permission for the proposals, on land between the High Street and the A602 bypass, at a meeting yesterday (Thursday, August 13).

Martin Prescott, a committee member, said he was "uncomfortable" with elements of the plans but added: "We have to use legitimate planning grounds if we want to find some reason to refuse and I, frankly, can't find any, so with reluctance I will support the officer's recommendation".

Committee chair Nigel Mason said Cllr Prescott had "spoken for everyone" with his comments, while committee member Tom Tyson said the authority would be on "difficult ground" if they refused the application.

The proposed development site was previously within the green belt, but has since been included in the council's Local Plan, which acts as the blueprint for future development in the area.

Planning officers accepted the development would involve harm to the landscape and the loss of agricultural land, but concluded that – based on national and local policies – the benefits of the scheme would "significantly and demonstrably" outweigh its harms.

North Herts Council can currently only show a two-and-a-half year supply of land for new housing, well below the required minimum of five years.

The deficit means it is significantly harder for the authority to block proposed developments.

120 of the 300 homes at the Little Wymondley site will be classed as affordable, and properties will range in size from one-bedroom to four-bedroom.

Access to the site will be from Stevenage Road, while details such as appearance and layout will need to be ironed out in future planning applications.

The planning committee heard a number of objections from members of the public and fellow councillors.

Peter Bailey said it was "about time we stopped all these stupid houses being erected in places they are not required" and raised concerns about whether the water supply could maintain the new homes, while Hayley Ward suggested the location was not sustainable.

Paul Harding, a councillor at Wymondley Parish Council, said they objected to the plans and warned the new homes would "approximately double the size of Little Wymondley".

"We are not opposed to new housing, particularly much-needed social housing … but development must be proportionate, properly planned and integrated within the existing community," he said.

Dominic Griffiths, district councillor for Graveley, St Ippolyts & Wymondley ward, opposed the scheme and said roads in the area are "already under severe strain".

He added that "adding hundreds of extra daily vehicle movements into our narrow lanes through constrained junctions … could severely worsen highways safety and flow".

The applicant's agent, Phillippa Martin-Moran, said that the impact on traffic at junctions in and around Little Wymondley would be "minimal", and insisted that the site's location is sustainable as it is "within reach of services in Little Wymondley, Hitchin and Stevenage".

Hertfordshire Highways did not object to the development, and the developers will be required to pay £875,000 towards improving the bus route that runs through the village as part of their financial contributions to local infrastructure.