A DEVELOPMENT of six homes on the edge of a north Herefordshire village has been refused due to road safety concerns.

The planning application to build six detached dwellings and four garages on the south-eastern edge of Yarpole, near Leominster, was re-submitted following a dismissed appeal.

The applicant had changed the design of the layout in relation to concerns about a ‘suburban feel’ and the planning officer had initially recommended it for approval.

But following a traffic survey commissioned by Yarpole Parish Council, the officer changed the recommendation to a refusal which the councillors agreed to.

Brian Barnett, speaking on behalf of many residents, said there is hazardous access on to the C1039.

He said the parish council commissioned a traffic survey in November which showed well over 4,000 vehicle movements in a week- 10 percent of which were larger vehicles.

The access would be near a sharp bend and, he said, on a rural road there needs to be visibility of 44 metres but there is only 33 metres available.

He said if a car had pulled up to turn off into the development there would only be 28 metres for a vehicle to stop after coming around the bend.

Mr Barnett said: “Can vehicles stop within that distance? Over a third of traffic was moving too fast to do so.”

The Herefordshire Council planning committee meeting also heard flood water often gathers on the bend.

The parish council had also been told by Welsh Water that before any improvement works were carried out, the water treatment works would not have capacity for the extra homes.

Cllr Elissa Swinglehurst said: “We only have that evidence [traffic survey] because it was commissioned by the parish council. We may learn something from that of the robustness of evidence produced.”

The application was refused on highway safety grounds.

The applicant had also submitted plans to build a house and garage on an adjoining site to the development, but this was also refused for the same reasons.