A controversial 24-home development has been refused after being deemed "disrespectful" to a village south of Ipswich.

Babergh District Council had been recommended to refuse the development by Mixbrow Construction for a patch of land east of Chapel Road, in Bentley.

The plans were met with concern from some residents, with 13 letters, emails and online comments being sent, 11 objecting prior to the meeting.

In total, nine councillors voted in favour of the proposal to refuse the application, with one voting against at a meeting on Wednesday. 

Cllr Lee Parker, of Assington ward, said: “To do anything other than to go with the recommendation would be a travesty to the community that we asked to help guide us in this committee.”

Planning officers provided several reasons for the application’s refusal including that the latter would be ‘disrespectful to the historic environment’ in the village, and would over-develop the site as it was deemed to be clustered in relation to the character of the surrounding area.

Bentley Parish Council also released a statement calling for the plans to be refused, stating there is "no proven housing need for this scale of development" in the village.

With the site also being outside the settlement boundary, meaning it has no provisions for houses to be built on it, officers agreed the development did not meet the stricter policy criteria needed for approval.

Cllr David Busby, who represents the village, said: “If you look at the village as a whole, it is the best site for any future development, but the village is very keen on getting that site right.”