Plans to build four new homes next to a poultry farm have been rejected, due to concerns about the odour and dust generated by the site.

Councillors voted to reject the application for four single-storey homes on Bacton Road, in North Walsham because of fears over the impact the business would have on future residents.

The scheme had previously been given approval 'in principle', but needed a final sign-off from North Norfolk District Council (NNDC).

Ahead of the meeting, officers had recommended the plan for refusal, citing the impact of odour, noise, dust, lighting and pests from the farm.

But Priory ward councillor Richard Kershaw said he was "surprised" at a lack of data and evidence in the officers' report, and praised the developer for having carried out assessments on odour and noise.

Paul Heinrich, councillor for North Walsham East, raised similar concerns, arguing that officers were relying on opinion rather than "hard evidence".

Davina Romaine, an environmental protection officer, responded to the criticism by arguing the applicant's reports into issues like odour were "factually incorrect" and "don't really correspond with the proposed location of the dwellings".

"I have looked at the assessments and in my opinion, the authors have vastly underestimated the acoustics and odour environment in this location," she said.

Geoff Lyon, NNDC's development manager, also defended the council's recommendation.

He said the council has asked for information and updated reports from the applicant which had not been provided.

He said: "We have reached a point where we've been told information will not be provided and the committee will have to make a decision about what's in front of them."

David Taylor, the applicant, said the assessments requested by the council were carried out by people with proper training, to British standards and no issues were found.

He said: "The opinion of the environmental health officer is based on anecdotal from public complaints in other locations and did not lead to any further action by the council."

The application was refused eight votes to two at Thursday's meeting.