New Mills residents say their estate could be ruined if developers get the go-ahead for a complex of shops, flats and houses on land they view as the "green lung" of the estate.

Ledbury Town Council is recommending refusal of the proposal by developers Miton Ltd following a site visit by councillors on Wednesday evening, which was also attended by 40 concerned local residents.

The company has indicated it may modify its plans.

Herefordshire Council will have the final say on the application for a three-storey shops and flats complex. Malvern-based Miton is also seeking planning permission for 17 new houses.

Frost Road resident Helen Welch described the meadow area, off New Mills Way, as "the Central Park of Ledbury" and said too much of the estate had been built on to be healthy for wildlife.

"The skylarks go up but there's hardly any space for them to come down," she said.

Christine Tudge, of Auden Crescent, said: "We don't want any shops and a three-storey building would definitely be an eyesore.

"Where you get shops, you get children like moths to a flame. I fear there would be litter and grafitti."

Dennis Bush, of Frost Road, said of the shops complex: "It's far too dense and far too high. It's overdevelopment."

Residents who fear their gardens would be overlooked and their peace and privacy compromised, are signing a formal protest letter, copies of which will be sent to Herefordshire Council before the cut-off date for objections of April 24.

Following the site visit, Ledbury's mayor Clive Jupp, said: "We need big areas of open space for public space, not more houses."

Kevin Bishop, Herefordshire Council's principal planning officer for Ledbury, said the site itself was "set in stone" on the New Mills master plan as an area for a "neighbourhood centre".

He said: "There are still some technical issues with the application to be discussed.

"I'm not surprised at the scale of the objections, given the nature of the development."

Mr Bishop said that the application would be discussed at a later date than the next northern area planning sub-committee meeting, on May 2.

Brian Holton, managing director of Miton, said the company had been in contact with various retailers and believed shops on the estate "wouldn't work" for economic reasons, given the existing density of housing.

Miton is now likely to press for outline planning permission for a change of use.

Mr Holton said: "My feeling is I'd like to see the whole site going for houses."