A new housing estate near Ibstock has been delayed after councillors branded plans to "squash" the approved homes onto a smaller area as "dubious", likening the layout to "sardines".

Hinckley and Bosworth Borough Council gave permission for 55 homes to be built on land off Barton Road, near the village of Barlestone and the hamlet of Osbaston, in 2021.

But when developer My Pad 2020, which specialises in providing 'affordable' housing', submitted a more detailed application, for the next step in the planning process, it included a new layout which put the existing 55 approved homes on a smaller plot, and suggested there was now room for an extra 22 homes on the remaining land.

But at a planning meeting last week, councillors voted to defer a decision on the application to allow the developer to address concerns over the new layout, and to clarify questions over whether roads included in the plans would be adopted by the local highway authority.

Ward councillor Bill Crookes told the meeting that some gardens of homes in the new plans were too small to meet the council's standards for minimum size. He said: "The houses have been squashed together since planning permission was granted and this to the extent that some gardens are sub standard."

Councillor Scott Gibbens said: "It seems slightly dubious practice to get something passed on what it looks like, and then change the entire look and feel."

He added: "We would never have accepted that many houses on that site as now are being proposed."

While Councillor Richard Flemming said: "It comes back to sardines again now, and how many houses can you actually pack into a site here."

Barlestone resident Elizabeth Kynoch, who spoke at the meeting, described the new layout as "heartbreaking", saying: "They are cramming them in to directly look into our houses and our back gardens and impact us." She expressed concerns over the final number of new homes that might end up being built on the site.

Councillor Andy Elliott, of Osbaston Parish Council, told planning committee members that the population of Osbaston was 255 at the 2011 census, adding: "Once all new homes are occupied, this will increase the hamlet's population by at least 20 per cent and more than likely closer to 50 per cent.

"This is a significant increase in the population, and residents and the parish council are concerned that the land to be developed now shows the new dwellings to be concentrated and located at the eastern edge of the site.

"This appears to be a clear indication that the developer intends to build far more than 55 dwellings on the site."

However Councillor Richard Allen said: "We hear quite often that people struggle to find houses in our villages and end up having to move away, so to some degree it's a bonus that we've got a provider that wants to provide affordable housing in a village so the young people in that village can stay."

John Bradbury, a planning agent who spoke on behalf of the developer, said it made sense to make "more efficient use of sites that already have planning permission", due to government plans to increase the numbers of new homes being built across the country.

He added that if the plan was approved, work on the 55 homes, which will all be affordable, could begin in early 2025 and could be finished by the end of the year.

The vote to defer the application was unanimous.