PLANS to build nine homes and three commercial units at a former builder’s yard in Sling have been approved by council planners despite privacy concerns.

An application for outline consent at Laurels Business Park in the village was discussed at a planning committee meeting on Tuesday (November 9).

Council officers had recommended approving the scheme as it would contribute to the local housing supply and provide jobs and extra funding for public services.

But a number of local residents had objected to the plans due to concerns over a lack of privacy for bungalows opposite the site.

Residents had also raised concerns about asbestos, unrestricted working hours of existing units and increased traffic and pollution.

Most of the one-acre site is located within the village boundary, with a small section of it in open countryside.

Consultants working on the scheme say the vision for the development is of properties that are one and half to two storeys in height.

At the meeting, councillors raised concerns about privacy for nearby residents, the site’s proximity to the "noisy" New Dunn Business Park, the addition of new commercial units and the presence of bats in a ruined building at the site.

It was explained that the commercial units would only be used as office space or for small-scale "light industrial" purposes, such as for making textiles or pottery, and that consultees have not raised any objections to the units over noise or pollution.

Officers added that revised plans in the scheme include the creation of a bat house to be located near woodland at the edge of the development, after an eco survey found there to be brown long-eared and lesser horseshire bats nesting in a ruined building.

Ward member David Wheeler spoke in support of the scheme despite concerns about privacy and pollution from New Dunn.

Cllr Wheeler said that while he strongly supports the provision of new housing in Sling, the new homes will need "severe attenuation and insulation" because of the level of noise and smoke that is produced at New Dunn "24/7".

The application was approved by 10 councillors, with one abstention.