Plans to build nine bungalows on a former football pitch have been refused by councillors at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council.

The proposal would have extended existing cul-de-sac development at Calvin Court in Kingsley.

The development would have taken place in the countryside on green belt land on a former football pitch, which hasn't been used for more than five years.

Four of the two-bedroom bungalows would have been restricted to residents aged over 55.

Additionally, Kingsley Park and Kingsley Holt Park would have received £5,000 each to improve the existing football pitch and provide additional play equipment. The application is a resubmission of two previous schemes, both of which were refused.

A statement from Councillor James Aberley was presented to the planning committee. It said: "This is not the first time this application has been brought to the council, it has been rejected repeatedly with only slight variations each time. The fundamental issues that the development into the open space of the former playing fields represents encroachment into open countryside.

"It is damaging to the amenity of properties that border it along Haste Hill Avenue and would represent also a further encroachment of village boundaries, closing the gap between Kingsley and Kingsley Holt.

"The site is in green belt and it is in my opinion and that of the parish council that the circumstances suggested that would allow this to be built on green belt are not exceptional and thus on that basis alone this should be rejected."

The applicant's agent David Byatt that the youth club and football pitch went up for sale in 2017 after it closed due to a lack of use and at least two clubs tried and failed to make it a success.

He said: "In our view the loss of the changing facilities and more significantly the car park was the final nail in the coffin for the football pitch. Since the closure and redevelopment of the site no enquiries or expressions of interest for the pitch have been put forward. It would be simply impractical for the site to be used by football teams."

Sport England acknowledged that the pitch no longer had a car park or changing rooms but objected to the scheme because it did not meet any of the exceptions in its policy.

They said that off-site mitigation could be provided at other pitches and calculated that £95,000 would be needed to mitigate the loss of the pitch.

He continued: "Their recommendation is that if the football pitch is to be lost the applicant should pay a ransom of £95,000. There are no facts and figures behind this sum and this is simply because SMDC playing pitch performance guide is out of date.

"On that basis we have no insight into the current demands for teams, if there's any need to keep rural pitches, what the conditions of existing pitches are or how much work they need to improve them. There is no long term goal."

Councillor Linda Malyon also supported the proposal, saying: "The land is previously developed recreational site that has become redundant and no longer serves its original purpose. The proposal would provide much needed housing within a sustainable village location, close to local services and public transport.

"The development would bring a vacant, underused site back to beneficial use. The use of high quality landscaping and sensitive design would minimise the impact on the openness and preserve the wider character of the surrounding area."

Councillors at the district council refused to grant permission in line with the officers recommendations. Speaking in support of refusing the application Councillor Adam Parkes said: "We need affordable houses, this is what we need in the Moorlands.

"Now I would suggest that the properties we're looking at would not fall under that affordable bracket, I can not say that because I don't know how much they are. In regard to the pitches, I think this is important, if you imagine a village cricket ground, does that mean if we close down or a village cricket club comes to an end that land suddenly becomes suitable for housing development.

"I think we'd all agree that was not appropriate, therefore based on what I saw today, based on the area around it, it is a beautiful plot, I didn't see a demand for housing."