Plans to build 50 homes off Stevenage Road near Hitchin have been rejected by North Herts Council's planning committee.

At a meeting on Tuesday (April 21), councillors unanimously voted to refuse permission for the homes, which would have been located next to Kingshott School.

Alun Evans, speaking on behalf of the applicant Bugler Homes, said the application had come before the committee "too early" and asked for a decision on it to be delayed.

But committee members voted to go along with the recommendation from council planning officers that they refuse permission for the development.

Officers found that building on the green belt site would cause "very significant" harm to its openness and to the objective of preventing the "unrestricted sprawl" of Hitchin.

They also concluded that the proposed layout and appearance was of "poor quality" and that there was "insufficient information" about flood risk and the impact of the new homes on nearby roads.

Committee member Cllr Daniel Allen said the application was "a ticklist of everything that could be wrong with a proposal".

He said: "North Hertfordshire desperately needs homes, but not to the detriment of the local area.

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"This does not improve our area. There is no argument to say this is grey belt.

"To get our local highways authority to be against anything is a rarity, and they are … right in what they are suggesting here."

Hertfordshire Highways said they had "unresolved concerns" about road safety and capacity.

A transport assessment found that delays at the A602-Whitehill Road junction would increase, resulting in "more risky manoeuvres being undertaken by frustrated drivers", and that overall there would be an "unacceptable" and "severe" impact on road safety.