Residents in a Leicestershire village are angry that a developer has come back with plans for a big housing scheme after twice being turned down.
Davidsons Homes wants to put up 120 homes on farmland close to Desford Primary School.
The plans for the greenfield Kirkby Road site – off a single track country lane – have twice been refused by Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council.
In 2015, the borough council decided the site significantly exceeded “the residual allocated requirement for housing in Desford” and would be detrimental to the “rural character and setting of the village.”
Last November the borough council turned down a subsequent application saying it did “not protect the intrinsic value, beauty and open character of this countryside location”.
The council also said it would lead to more traffic near the village primary school and recreation ground and have a “severe impact on highway safety”.
Davidsons – which is based a couple of miles up the road in Ibstock – has earmarked 13.6 acres of farmland at Ashfield Farm for the houses.
Before lodging its latest proposals, it leafleted homes to ask people what they thought.
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There were two responses backing the plan but 159 objecting to it.
The concerns covered extra traffic congestion, the loss of green space and the extra pressure more residents would put on schools and other services.
In documents submitted to the council, the developer said: “We want to produce a new living environment of the highest standard, with a clear and distinguishable character which reflects the local vernacular and contextual surroundings.
“We want to provide a sustainable development with a diverse range of housing to suit all needs while providing attractive open spaces.
“The site aims to provide an appealing development with streets and places that promote social interaction.”
The company says up to 40 per cent of the homes would be affordable and it also wants to build a new play area.
Resident Graham Cole, who has children in the village schools, said Desford has grown massively in the last few years and had more than taken its share of the borough’s growth needs.
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He said: “I get the impression that Desford is picked on as it is on the edge of Hinckley and Bosworth Borough.
“This is the third time I have written about the same planning proposal.
“Please get them to spread the development burden.”
Another dad-of-two, who made his home in the village six years ago, said pretty much everyone he spoke to said the village was in danger of losing its identity.
He has objected to the council urging them to turn down the plans, which he said were in completely the wrong location.
The said: “This is a small village with a handful of shops, two pubs and two schools and its character would be totally changed by further development.
“It would be better for brownfield sites to be developed rather than greenfield sites like this. The profits of housebuilders should not be allowed to outweigh the lives of people who have already made the village their home.
“It is in the worst possible place for access, so all traffic, during construction and once built, would have to come through quiet residential streets, affecting the lives of everyone who lives along them.
“There are also fears the primary school would not be able to provide the same high level of support to pupils if it became too big.
“There are already issues with traffic getting jammed outside the High Street Co-op, and that would only get worse as it is one of the main routes – if not the main route – to the proposed development.
“Previous applications for the site were turned down and since then, Desford is even less suitable for further development than it was then.”
The council is considering the latest application.