Plans to build up to four homes in a North Staffordshire village have been refused over concerns about the impact on the countryside.

The proposal put forward by John Pointon & Sons Ltd would have seen the homes built on Mill Lane in Wetley Rocks.

The application was for permission in principle, meaning councillors could only consider the location, land use and amount of development. If approved a later application covering details such as design, ecology and highways would then be considered.

In total the application received seven objections from local residents. Concerns such as the location being in the green belt, Mill Lane being over developed and encroaching on the countryside were lodged with the council.

Planning agent Ellen Macleod told the planning committee: "Without new residents rural communities inevitably face decline; schools struggle to maintain pupil numbers, village halls become harder to sustain, pubs and local businesses lose customers, and younger generations are increasingly priced out of the places they grew up in. That is why this proposal is so important.

"The council has accepted Wetley Rocks is identified as a large village, it also accepts the site is grey belt land and recognises the current shortfall in housing supply in Staffordshire Moorlands.

"At the same time house prices continue to rise, population growth continues and the number of new houses being delivered here is falling."

The application was also supported by Councillor Mike Worthington, who said: "It's a small plot at the end of Mill Lane, it's the last bit of Mill Lane to be developed. It's next to a very large imposing bungalow which this committee gave approval for, against officers recommendation of being in the green belt.

"This site is classed as grey belt, it's close to the church, close to the school, close to public transport. There are no pavements, but it's a country lane, you tell me how many country lanes have got pavements, not very many."

Planning officers have assessed that the land is within the North Staffordshire Green Belt but does meet the definition of grey belt.

However, they concluded that the proposal did not meet all the requirements in national planning policy for development to be considered appropriate.

Councillor Paul Roberts said he was struggling to decide how to vote.

He said: "I'm struggling a little with this one, I think I would have liked to have seen a full application, instead of in principle. I'm tempted to ask for a deferral to ask for a full application to come in, but I don't think I can legally.

"We are short of housing, we do need houses. I would have liked to see bungalows on there if anything and for people in the village. It's outside the village boundary but I think we've had this every time with Wetley Rocks, where is really the village boundary.

Councillor Adam Parkes said that he would support refusal of the application in the hope that a future full planning application would come forward.

He said: "I did sense I didn't yet see something that's going to work but I certainly felt there was something there that could. Without a full application I find it very difficult to therefore make a decision on that."

Planning officers at Staffordshire Moorlands District Council recommended refusal, saying the development would harm the visual character and appearance of the distinctly rural area and result in significant encroachment into the countryside.

The planning committee voted to refuse the application.