PLANS for up to 50 homes at Welland were thrown out after councillors heard about its impact on the environment.

The application, for land at Lawn Farm, off Drake Street, is next to a site where 50 houses have already received planning approval, and close to another where 30 more houses have been approved.

The applicant, Kler Developments, says that in the light of the housing need in Malvern Hills, the proposed new housing is sustainable and would represent a natural expansion of permitted development at Lawn Farm.

Welland residents said the plan should be refused because the site is outside recognised settlement boundaries, is prone to flooding, harbours protected species and has inadequate access.

And at Wednesday night's meeting of the council's southern area development control committee, council planning officers recommended refusal, because of "significant environmental constraints" including the presence of bats and great crested newts.

Don Atkinson of Welland Parish Council told the meeting the village did not have the infrastructure to absorb the extra homes.

He said: "The pub is closed, the bus services have been reduced by 50 per cent, the school is full and the nearest doctor is four miles away in Upton."

Members voted unanimously to turn down the application.