ANGRY residents have form-ed an action group in a bid to halt a three-storey development on a field behind their homes.

People who live in the College Road area of Ripon are protesting over newly tabled plans by the Hanover Housing Association for a greenfield site next to the former College of Ripon and York St John.

Protestors claim that the original plan for the site was for single-storey accommodation for the elderly.

The new planning application is not expected to be heard by a Ripon area planning committee of Harrogate Borough Council until August.

But objections have already been lodged, said borough council planning officer Mark Williams.

A member of the protest group, Rosemary Curlew, who is a member of Ripon City Council, said a range of pro-tests was planned, including signs in gardens condemning what residents believe to be an overintensive and overbearing development.

Mr Williams said one of the main concerns was the scale and additional height of the development, which would include a 40-bed project for the elderly.

People living nearby fear extra traffic and are opposed to the nearness of the three-storey building to their properties.

Mr Williams said about 130 properties were planned on the site, which includes conversion to housing of the main college building.

After closure of the college, which sparked major protests in Ripon including a march through the city centre, planning permission was granted for a series of developments on the extensive site.