Council leaders face a choice of earmarking fields outside a Stoke-on-Trent village for more than 800 homes – or leave the land as it is.

Stoke-on-Trent City Council had carried out a consultation on its controversial masterplan for the 80-hectare site outside Packmoor – with five options for the land.

The authority has now eliminated three of these options, leaving two left: developing the land to deliver up to 816 homes, or 'do nothing'. Cabinet members will formally decide which of these options to take forward when they meet on 14 July.

A total of 448 people responded to the council's four-week consultation, with around 70 per cent against any development.

The original masterplan proposed to build up to 1,224 homes on the land, but the council has now ruled out building on historic 'ridge and furrow' farmland and football pitches used by Kidsgrove Athletic, which will mean a smaller amount of development on 24 hectares of land.

But there is still likely to be major opposition to any housebuilding on the land from local residents, who have raised concerns over the loss of greenspace and increased pressure on roads and services.

Residents reiterated these concerns to council leader Jane Ashworth at a three-hour public meeting in Packmoor on Friday.

Council leaders insist that they have listened to local people, but say Stoke-on-Trent still needs to build more homes.

Councillor Finlay Gordon-McCusker, cabinet member for growth, regeneration and transport, said: "I want to thank the people of Packmoor who took the time to have their say.

"People told us clearly what matters to them: green space, traffic, and the character of their village and the surrounding communities. That feedback has directly shaped this report and it's why officers are recommending the historic ridge and furrow land is taken off the table entirely.

"On Kidsgrove Athletic, let me be equally clear: local football provision will not be reduced.

"What's now in front of cabinet is a genuinely open and balanced decision. We have to weigh what residents have told us against our responsibility to the 3,500 households on our housing register and the need to plan properly for the city's future.

"No decision has been taken in advance. This process has always been about listening, gathering the evidence, and making sure councillors have everything they need to reach the right decision — for Packmoor and for Stoke-on-Trent."

If cabinet members choose the development proposal, the council would then begin the process of appointing a 'master developer'.

The development would include around 200 affordable rented properties and housing for older people, as well as infrastructure improvements, such as a new spine road linking Turnhurst Road and Outclough Road.

But if the 'do nothing' option is chosen, the Packmoor land will be removed from the draft local plan and no further work will take place.

Around 200 residents attended a public meeting on Friday organised by Great Chell and Packmoor Community Association, where they had the chance to quiz Cllrs Ashworth and Gordon-McCusker on the masterplan.

They raised concerns over a raft of issues, such as local roads, including Turnhurst Road, already being at capacity, drainage and flooding problems on the land, and the importance of the green space to local people.

Darren Bamford, secretary of the community association, questioned how much the council had actually listened to residents, saying that the proposals in the masterplan strongly resembled those first outlined 18 months ago.

He said: "There is a strong perception that the residents' views and concerns have had little, if any, influence, on the decision-making process, or on how the local plan and masterplan have ultimately been shaped.

"It's perceived that the plans have been pre-determined and there is very little evidence that the public or the residents have had any input on this process.

"As an administration you say that you want to listen, and that our views matter. Given these commitments, why do so many residents perceive the engagement and consultation process to have been poor, and believe that the resulting plans are pre-determined?"

Mr Bamford said that residents would be prepared to take legal action if the council pushed forward with the development proposal.

Cllr Ashworth insisted that the concerns raised by residents had influenced the masterplan, with the inclusion of proposals such as a 'green buffer' to prevent Packmoor merging with other villages, and investment in highways.

She said: "I think there's a difference between listening and agreeing. Of course we have listened, you've seen the documentation, you've seen the masterplan. It addresses the concerns that you have raised.

"The difference between listening and agreeing is what's important here. The points you have raised have steered the work. But that doesn't mean that the cabinet will or won't agree with those points."

At the meeting, Cllr Ashworth also said that Kidsgrove Athletic would not be forced to leave the football pitches at Packmoor.

Planning rules state that if sports pitches are removed they have to be replaced in the area, and Cllr Ashworth said this is not currently feasible.