TEN new houses could be built in a rural Herefordshire village, but local residents say the development is out of character and fear extra cars would make roads "downright dangerous".

Applicant Claire Price asked Herefordshire Council if she could have permission to build the 10 new houses in Longtown, in the south-west of the county, as well as carry out associated access, parking and landscaping works.

She said she was keen to provide "considerable" green and open space while securing much-needed new homes.

Plans submitted to Herefordshire Council by agent Katherine Dowdall showed the cul-de-sac, which would be east of Greyhound Close, would be made up of five detached houses, two semi-detached and three terraced houses, looking out onto a central green.

A design and access statement said the proposed houses range from three to five bedroom units providing "spacious living solutions to cater for a variety of different needs".

Consultants said the development would be similar in character to the rest of the village, and to the nearby Greyhound Close which was built in 2001.

There would also be 25 car parking spaces and 46 cycle spaces, if plans get the go-ahead from planners, and access for construction would be via Greyhound Close.

But locals said the size of the development was unsuitable for the rural village.

Geoffrey Miller, of Greyhound Close, said it was "excessive and wholly inappropriate, and out of keeping with the character of such a small village".

"Such development would negatively impact the character of the village and be completely out of keeping with the surrounding rural environment," he said in his objection.

"Longtown is a very small, rural community that currently enjoys peace and tranquility due in no small part to its limited sized population.

"As residents, we undertake the additional five to six mile drive from the main road through treacherous narrow lanes to reach the village precisely because of its relative isolation and quietness.

"The additional population and ensuring extra traffic burden would certainly disrupt the peace and tranquility that residents currently enjoy."

Stuart and Lydia Bradley, also of Greyhound Close, said the extra traffic would make the roads "downright dangerous".

Objecting to the scheme, they said: "The proposed development, more than doubles the existing number of houses, therefore the resulting increase in traffic could be considered at best, undesirable, if not downright dangerous.

"At present, parking is often suboptimal, any increase would, by definition, just make matters worse."

They added the lanes leading to Longtown could become "potentially dangerous" as a result.

Ron Brierly, also of Greyhound Close, said in his objection that the development goes against what was agreed in the neighbourhood development plan.

He said that there was support for houses with two to four bedrooms, built as in-fill, and virtually no support for larger scale developments.

Mr Brierly had concerns around the village's limited facilities and nearby over-subscribed schools, as well as Greyhound Close being unacceptable for access.

Herefordshire Council said comments on application 211678 can be made until Thursday, July 15, with a target determination date of Tuesday, September 7.