Permission has been granted for 41 homes, including 50% affordable homes, to be built on land between Hitchin and St Ippolyts.

North Herts Council's planning committee voted by seven votes to five in favour of granting permission for a development off Mill Lane and London Road at their meeting on Thursday (August 13).

Committee chair Cllr Nigel Mason said the decision was not "clear cut" but added that he had not heard any "material considerations for grounds to reject this proposal".

The land was previously classed as Green Belt, but planning officers concluded that it now qualifies as Grey Belt land after Government planning reforms, and recommended that permission should be granted.

Officers found that the land makes only a "moderate" contribution to checking unrestricted sprawl from Hitchin and to preventing neighbouring towns from merging, rather than the "strong" contribution required for the land to avoid being categorised as Grey Belt.

The development site is within a larger parcel of land, referred to as HS7, that was recently found to be Green Belt in a district-wide assessment carried out for the council.

But planning officers explained that the site for the 41 homes – comprising only 3.39 hectares of the wider parcel's 29 hectares – must be considered on its own merits.

Several public speakers argued that the land did prevent sprawl and the merging of towns, while also raising concerns about potential traffic and congestion on Mill Lane.

Cllr Ralph Muncer, speaking as councillor for Codicote and Kimpton ward, said the development site is "crucial and important green belt land" and continued: "This piece of land not only protects St Ippolyts from being subsumed and becoming a suburb of Hitchin, but it also plays an important role to protect Gosmore as well from becoming a suburb of Hitchin."

Several committee members raised concerns about the plans, with Cllr Jon Clayden describing the concept of Grey Belt as "complicated, vague and largely unhelpful" and Cllr Caroline McDonnell stating that the site provided a "particularly important buffer between Hitchin and St Ippolyts".

The development will also lead to 24 trees being removed, including four which are under a tree preservation order implemented earlier this year.

Cllr Martin Prescott said: "We very recently designated … trees on the site as protected. Why on earth would we do that if five minutes later we're going to give somebody permission to chop three quarters of them down?"

Cllr Claire Winchester said she was "in favour of development in the right places and at the right times" but added: "This feels like it's too minimal and too marginal a benefit in terms of the provision of affordable housing against losing a really valuable piece of natural landscape".

But committee chair Cllr Mason said members "cannot ignore" the tilted balance which is currently in place as a result of the council only being able to demonstrate a two-and-a-half year supply of land for housing, well below the five-year requirement.

It means it is far harder for the authority to block unwanted developments, as permission can only be refused where the negatives of a development would "significantly and demonstrably" outweigh its benefits.

"While there is undoubted harm from the loss of the trees, I don't believe that substantially outweighs the benefits of 41 new homes, 50% of which are affordable," Cllr Mason said.

One committee member, Cllr Clare Billing, said she "would like to vote against it … but nobody's come up with any planning reasons to be against it".

Cllr Val Bryant, meanwhile, said there was a "fine balance" but added: "It will provide the sort of housing that we need, with the percentage of affordable housing that we need."

While the principle of development on the site has now been approved, details such as appearance and layout will need to be confirmed through future planning applications.

The planning committee's approval includes permission for a field to the west of the new homes to become public open space