Developers have been given the go ahead to build up to 74 houses in Warboys despite opposition from more than 200 residents.

Permission to build on land south of Farriers Way and Bencroft Lane was granted at a meeting of Huntingdonshire District Council’s development management panel on Monday (September 21).

Concerns were raised in the run up to the meeting by a residents’ group, with the backing of Warboys Parish Council, after it was determined that the only access point to the development would be through a boarded fence in Farriers Way.

Residents were concerned that the access was unsuitable and would lead to an unsustainable increase in traffic.

Mandi Holland, from Bencroft Lane, Warboys, said: “The councillors have come out in favour of the developer.

“They haven’t considered how much traffic will be going through the street and heading out onto the main road – this is a worry for us.”

A report compiled by planning officers at the district council noted: “A number of transport matters have been raised by third parties and the parish council. Indeed the local residents have submitted their own independent traffic survey.”

The survey carried out by the residents’ group revealed that the 74 properties on the development site - and an adjacent site which has the capacity for around 20 dwellings - would generate 820 car movements a day – in excess of the 78 suggested in the developer’s own survey.

However, contrary to what residents suggested, council officers said that the proposed development of the site for up to 74 dwellings “would not have a harmful impact on the immediate or wider surrounding area”.

Approving the plans, the district council asked land owner and applicant John Stokes to carry another survey to determine the population of the great crested newts.

The residents’ group now say that they will be seeking a judicial review to determine whether the newt survey needed to be carried out before planning permission was given.