Councillors have agreed to a delay to junction safety improvements linked to a major housing scheme.

Developer Bellway Homes is required to upgrade the A51/A53 junctions near Baldwin's Gate after securing permission to build 200 homes at Baldwin's Gate Farm.

The original planning condition meant Bellway had to carry out the improvements before more than 50 homes were occupied. But Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council has now approved Bellway's bid to change the trigger point to 100 homes – which would mean delaying the works by around a year.

Chris O'Hanlon, senior planning manager at Bellway, told the planning committee that this delay would allow the company to look at options for the junction schemes.

The proposed upgrades currently include signalising the junctions and banning traffic from turning right from the A51 Nantwich Road onto the A53 Newcastle Road.

Mr O'Hanlon said: "The proposals are solely concerned with the timing of the delivery of the off-site highway improvements at the A51 and A53 junctions to the west of the site.

"We are not looking to remove these obligations. We are committed to improving those junctions in line with the outline planning permission.

"However, what we are seeking to do is to consider alternative designs to ensure that the most appropriate improvements are implemented."

Bellway's application to vary the planning condition was recommended for approval by officers, after highways engineers at Staffordshire County Council raised no objections on road safety grounds.

But the borough council received 25 objections from residents, who raised concerns over traffic being diverted onto narrow country lanes as a result of the junction changes.

Maer and Aston parish councillor Guy Chatburn told the committee that the council should require Bellway Homes to carry out new traffic surveys and a road safety audit specifically looking at the impact on Hungersheath Lane and Wharmadine Lane, which have seen two fatal accidents in recent years.

He said that Hungersheath Lane is already a 'ratrun', with previous surveys indicating that 300 cars use it every morning.

Cllr Chatburn said: "Despite there being two deaths on the compulsory diversion routes, neither Hungersheath Lane nor Wharmadine Lane were visited or audited.

"How can a developer of a housing estate two miles away divert traffic down clearly unsuitable lanes without scrutiny from highways? We call on Bellway Homes, whose slogan is 'build it right', to give road safety in our parish greater priority."

But officers told the committee that the highway safety of the junction works had already been decided by previous planning decisions, and the only issue to be determined was the trigger point.

Highways officer Simon Hawe said that the extra traffic generated by 50 more homes at Baldwin's Gate 'won't be noticeable to the human eye', meaning the change would be acceptable.

Some committee members, after hearing about the existing traffic and road safety issues in the area, suggested that the proposed improvements should not be delayed. Cllr David Grocott proposed refusing permission for the change in trigger point for this reason.

But the committee voted against this, meaning the application was approved.