Plans for five new properties which will be lived in full-time have been given the go-ahead in a second homes hotspot.

West Norfolk council has agreed five new houses can be built on the site of former barns close to the main A149 coast road at Holme, near Hunstanton.

All will have a legal condition that they must be principal residences.

Some 60pc of properties in the village are either second homes or holiday lets.

But councillors on the planning committee heard the two and three-bed properties, which will be arranged around a courtyard on Eastgate, will be "principal homes".

Jason Law, agent for developers Millthorne, said: "I think this is a great model, it might be the first multiple principal homes proposal on our coast. This is the way forward."

Earlier, Holme Parish Council chair Wendy Norman said the principal residence condition should be set out in a Section 106 legal agreement which would become registered as a land charge.

Borough councillor Pallavi Devulapalli agreed. Tom de Winton, whose ward includes Holme, said: "Section 106 is definitely the way to go because it's a land charge, not a condition, therefore it's always there.

"By making these principal residences, the people who buy them are obliged to take part in our community, take part in our voting and all that kind of thing."

Vivienne Spikings said: "We need to be seen to be helping local people to get back to live in their own communities if we can."

Councillors agreed planning permission provided a Section 106 agreement can be drawn up.

Mr Law from Thornham-based Strata Architects said after the meeting: “This scheme has been two years in the making, working closely with the local and parish councils.

"With hard work and persistence, you can often achieve the right results, and this amazing scheme is certainly one of those.”