Councillors have approved plans to build homes on Green Belt land in principle, saying their 'hands are tied' by national legislation.

Applicant Vena Lloyd requested permission in principle to build three to six homes on land off Vernon Avenue in Audley.

While the site lies within the Green Belt, planning officers at Newcastle-under-Lyme Borough Council accepted that the land meets the definition of 'grey belt', meaning development can be appropriate.

With a permission in principle application, a council can only consider the suitability of a site for residential development, with all other issues such as highway safety, density and residential amenity being assessed at the technical details stage.

Planning committee members at the borough council expressed their unhappiness at the national planning rules that made such an application possible. But they said they had no other option but to follow their officer's recommendation and approve the application.

Councillor Andrew Fear said: "Having heard our officer, I cannot see, given our hands are so firmly tied by national legislation, that we can do anything other than accept this in principle.

"Having said that, I look forward to the technical details debate where we can examine quite a lot of things that have been mentioned by colleagues this evening and which we are quite deliberately excluded from considering at this time.

"So with very great reluctance, I will move that we accept our officer's recommendation."

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Committee chair Paul Northcott added: "We have no choice. Our hands are tied."

The application was opposed by Audley Parish Council who said the proposed development would conflict with the neighbourhood plan as the site lies outside the development boundary.

Planning officers acknowledged that the site sits outside the settlement boundary, but said it 'directly abuts' the village envelope.

The site is also next to land which has been earmarked for 33 homes in Newcastle's draft local plan.

Under recent changes to national planning rules, land can be considered grey belt if it does not make a strong contribution to the Green Belt by checking unrestricted urban sprawl or preventing towns from merging.

Now that permission in principle has been granted for the Vernon Avenue homes, the applicant will need to get technical details consent before any development can take place.

Staffordshire County Council has already asked for highways issues to be considered at the technical details stage, saying the homes will result in an 'intensification of the already inadequate access arrangements'.