RESIDENTS of Albert Road in Ledbury have welcomed news that a developer has lost its planning battle to build 12 homes and an access road.

A government inspector has upheld Herefordshire Council's decision to deny planning permission to the company, Rural Homes.

Resident Linda Issacs said: "It's good news for the moment and I hope now that Rural Homes will let this drop.

"We would have had houses to the front and rear and a car park almost adjacent to our house. It would have made life unbearable.

"This has caused all the residents a lot of distress really and I am pleased the Government inspector dismissed the appeal."

Ledbury mayor Coun Keith Fran-cis, who lives in Albert Road, said: "This was a crunch application. If it had gone forward, the floodgates would have been opened for infill development.

"The decision sends a warning to developers, which is take into account the street scene at the heart of town."

Government inspector Leonora Rozee said: "I consider the scale of the development for the site is excessive, because it would create a hard urban form unsympathetic to its surroundings."

The report also expressed concerns that the plan would cause the loss of mature trees and established boundaries.

Barry Connally, director of Rural Homes, said he will now consider his options for the site, which he owns.

"I am not disappointed at all. The inspector accepted 80 per cent of what we proposed. As far as I'm concerned, the refusal is tantamount to acceptance, subject to us tweaking a few things."

Mr Connally said he would like to meet Albert Road residents in the New Year to discuss the future.

But he said Rural Homes might not make a decision on what to do with the site until later in the year and one option might be to sell it.