Plans for two to four homes in Baddeley Edge look set to be refused by Stoke-on-Trent City Council. 

The proposed site for the development lies within the green belt on land west of Spout Lane in Baddeley Edge - on the northeast edge of Stoke on Trent. 

Residential planning applications have previously been submitted for the site in 1974 and 1993, both of which were refused. 

The application states that the plans are "an appropriate form of development within the green belt". 

Councillors will discuss the application at next week's planning committee meeting, with a report from council officers recommending it be refused. 

The report said: "The proposal constitutes inappropriate development in the Green Belt, which is, by definition, harmful and should not be approved except in very special circumstances. 

"Furthermore, the scheme would represent an unsustainable form of development, in a location which is lacking in sustainable transport modes for all users." 

National Highways objected to the proposal and said: "Any development on the site would therefore increase vehicular and pedestrian movements on a substandard highway." 

Drainage officers objected because the development would be at risk of flooding. 

The application also received 48 online objections, 216 letters of objection and 12 online comments of support. 

Several residents raised concerns over several factors including the impact on the countryside, pressure on local services, and the impact on pedestrian and highway safety. 

One resident who objected to the plan said: "Firstly, the field in question provides an important natural habitat for a wide range of wildlife and is green belted land. 

"Over the last year alone, I've observed owls, bats, badgers, foxes, hedgehogs, frogs, and numerous, insect, amphibians and bird species nesting and foraging there. 

"Even allowing them to create a den at the bottom of my garden on the very border of this field, which would destroy a natural communion between the residents of spout lane and its abundant wildlife. 

"This green space is so important for the biodiversity of the area, developing it would permanently destroy an established ecosystem that has coexisted peacefully alongside our community for decades." 

The applicant submitted a comment in response to the objections and said: "This application has received a lot of publicity and many objections due to a vigorous social media campaign which falsely claimed that the proposed site would give access to 150 or more properties to the west of the site.

"This naturally caused outrage in the local rural community at the thought of a vast increase in traffic. 

"In fact, the application is for a range of between 2 and 4 properties. This is an enclosed site with no access to any future western development." 

The council will decide whether to grant planning permission for the housing development at a meeting next Wednesday (20 November). 

If the application is approved, it is expected that a more detailed application would be submitted before building begins.

The full report can be viewed here.