PLANS for homes by a nature reserve in Thornaby – which have been refused four times by councillors - were put on hold yesterday.

Mandale Construction North managed to get its outline application for 45 homes, on land south of Cayton Drive, passed by appealing to the planning inspector, but councillors deferred their decision on the detailed plans yesterday after concerns were raised about access to the site.

When the plans were passed by the inspector the development had two routes of access, but due to issues with land owners the developers have reduced the access point to one.

Local residents told yesterday’s meeting of Stockton Borough Council’s planning committee that Cayton Drive was very narrow and emergency services vehicles would struggle to access the new development.

They were also concerned at how close the new homes would be to their properties, with gable ends of new houses right up against their boundaries – in some cases just seven metres from their homes.

One described it as a “peeping Tom’s paradise” with the proximity of the homes.

Councillor Phil Dennis raised concerns that the plans submitted were based on an elderly Ordnance Survey map which didn’t show many of the extensions on houses on surrounding properties.

He said: You only have to look at Google Earth to see how close these homes would be to some of the properties.”

The decision was deferred until developers have explored more options regarding access to the site, looking at a different access point from Mitchell Avenue.