New houses on a major Norfolk development could be barred from becoming second homes or holiday lets.

Villagers in Heacham have voted overwhelmingly in favour of a neighbourhood plan, which says all new properties have to be "principal residences".

That means they should only be sold to people who intend to live in them full-time. The document is legally-binding and must be taken into account when deciding planning applications.

Days after the vote, a principal residence condition was attached when permission was granted for a new bungalow to be built off Cheney Hill.

Now parish councillors hope the same condition will be applied to the 133 homes developer WH Kerkham hopes to build on nearby farmland between Cheney Hill and Marea Meadows.

Heacham Parish Council decided it would draw up a neighbourhood plan after the development was given outline permission in 2018, despite opposition from villagers.

The development needs so-called reserved matters such as the design and mix of properties to be agreed before work can begin.

Parish and borough councillor Terry Parish, who was one of the group of councillors and villagers who drew up the neighbourhood plan, said: "All the neighbourhood plan policies should apply including prime residence."

Tracy Raby, one of the villagers who helped draw up the document, added: "It's imperative that they're primary residences."

In its response to the application, Heacham Parish Council said: "We would prefer that all these properties are principal homes, not second homes or holiday lets."

But while the neighbourhood plan was passed by a sizeable majority of voters in Heacham, similar measures have not provided a silver bullet to solve issues such as house prices rising beyond the reach of locals in other parts of the country.

A similar vote in St Ives, Cornwall, ended up driving prices of existing properties still higher as locals were forced to compete with those looking to buy a second home or holiday let, while builders abandoned schemes because they were no longer able to sell properties in an open market.

Developers of the Heacham scheme have been contacted for comment. West Norfolk council has not yet set a decision date.