Local planners have postponed a decision on whether to allow Staffordshire County Council to build up to 100 homes on green space in Newcastle-under-Lyme.

The county council had to apply to the borough council for planning permission in the same way as any other landowner or developer.

They're seeking permission to build the homes on land adjacent to Hoon Avenue and Milehouse Lane, with the proposals recommended for approval by officers.

In a report, the officers state: "The site provides a sustainable and accessible location for residential development comprising of market and affordable housing.

"Adequate open space would remain within the site and the immediate locality for the enjoyment of existing and future residents.

"In addition, there would be new and better quality tree and hedgerow planting enhancing the site's green infrastructure.

"The development would provide acceptable living conditions for its occupiers and given its highly sustainable location, it is not considered that the proposal would have any significant adverse impact on highway safety so as to justify a refusal on such grounds."

However, there were 63 objections to the scheme – with the main concerns being about the loss of open space, additional traffic and the risk of flooding in the area.

There was also a suggestion that a planning application had recently been refused at the site – however officers were unable to obtain any details during the meeting.

They were also unable to provide photographs of the site for councillors to refer to during their discussion.

This caused councillors to question whether they'd been given with enough information to make a decision.

They spent around an hour discussing the application, before concluding they didn't have enough details to make a reliable conclusion.

The committee's chair, Cllr Paul Northcott said: "I'm going to propose that this is deferred so we can obtain the evidence and the information – because I feel it would be unsafe to determine this tonight in the absence of the photographs and the reference to the previous refusal.

"I don't feel this could proceed."

Seth Williams – speaking on behalf of Staffordshire County Council, which owns the land – said: "The site currently comprises an underutilised area of open grassland located within the urban area.

"The submission of the application followed pre-application engagement both with officers and with members via the strategic planing consultative group, and with the local community.

"The latter was somewhat more limited than what we would normally have liked to have achieved but that was at the time of the Covid restrictions."

He said the council delivered a four-page leaflet to 650 homes in the immediate area.

Mr Williams said the council had checked that there was alternative open space in the local area, and identified nine other sites within a 1.5km radius of the site, within an approximately 15-minute walk.

He also said the drainage strategy had also passed by the relevant bodies.