RESIDENTS from the New Greens estate let out an enormous cheer after councillors unanimously rejected plans to build homes on a patch of land at the back of their homes.

More than 40 worried residents packed into the district council chamber on Monday last week to air their grievances at proposals to build new homes on a site at the rear of Batchwood Drive and Francis Avenue, St Albans.

Beverley Stuart-Fletcher, of Francis Avenue, spoke out against the application on behalf of the residents.

She said homeowners were concerned the development would infringe on the garden space at the back of their properties and create numerous traffic problems in the area.

Belgrave Property Developments Ltd was seeking outline planning permission to develop the 0.74 hectare site which is landlocked by 32 homes. The outline application also included proposals to knock down a house at 17 Francis Avenue to access the site which could potentially have 22 new homes built on it.

But, in throwing out the application, councillors slammed the plans as exploitative, claiming it was totally unsuitable for the area.

Councillor Martin Leach said: "The New Greens estate is characterised by green spaces and large back gardens. It is clear we do not want this type of application on the estate as the local infrastructure could never cope with it."

Fellow committee members also criticised the lack of detail contained in the plan with Councillor Richard Biddle adding: "This is an attempt to drive a horse and cart through planning regulation."

All ten members of the planning committee agreed with a council officer's recommendation to refuse the proposal on the grounds it was detrimental to the area and would seriously impinge on the local road network.

Speaking after the councillors' decision, Ms Stuart-Fletcher added: "We are very pleased. We have all worked really hard and shown great support for each other throughout the whole process. We just hope the developer does not come back with another plan. "