Plans for nine homes in a west Suffolk town have been refused two years after proposals were first submitted over concerns with affordable housing and public footpaths. 

Applicant Brickfield Homes East Anglia first lodged plans with West Suffolk Council for the development with on land off Woodford Gardens, Fornham Road, in Bury St Edmunds, in May of 2022.

The plans, which included four two-storey homes with a mix of two and three bedrooms, as well as five bungalows, four of which would be two bedroom and one of which would have one bedroom, garages with internal parking and on-site parking, were refused on Wednesday, June 19.

In their decision notice, council officers said both the lack of affordable housing provision and lack of pedestrian footpaths were the reasons behind the refusal.

They wrote: "The applicant is disputing the Local Planning Authority's request for the provision of a policy compliant level of affordable housing."

They continued: "No pedestrian footpath has been provided parallel to the access road into the site to the north, passing a proposed visitor parking space.

"Accessibility to the site for pedestrians and cyclists is therefore not fulfilled and is unacceptable in its current form, heavily relying on motorised vehicles to enter and exit the site to the north, particularly as this is the main access route into the site."

They said these issues "outweigh any benefits previously identified with the scheme". 

More than 20 public comments were received, many of which voices objections for the plans citing loss of privacy, traffic, noise and overdevelopment. 

West Suffolk District Council refused the plans on Wednesday, June 19. 

For more information about planning notices visit the Public Notice Portal.