CONTROVERSIAL plans to build 41 new homes on a field in a village have been approved.

Hopkins Homes Limited has received planning permission from Colchester Council to create the new estate on land north of Colchester Road, West Bergholt.

According to the proposals, 12 homes, or 30 per cent, of the properties will be affordable.

There will be six terraced houses, 18 semis, seven bungalows, three coach houses and seven detached homes.

A strip of land will also be set aside for recreational use.

A new access point will be created for vehicles from the south of Colchester Road.

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A planning report states: "The submitted planning application and supporting documentation provide a comprehensive approach to the residential development of this site, developing the broad principles agreed via the evolution of the Neighbourhood Plan for the residential development of the site.

"An opportunity has been taken to provide a development which responds well to the specific circumstances of the locality, representing an excellent response to the need for further housing, which maximises the positive aspects of the site’s location, fully integrating and actively enhancing the character and appearance of the surroundings in which it would sit."

The plans received 17 objections from residents online before they were approved.