Proposals for five homes in Leysdown have been rejected due to concerns about traffic, noise and light.

Members of Swale council’s planning committee voted against the development on land next to Leysdown Village Hall, Wing Road, on Thursday.

Concerns were raised that noise from users of the building would impact on the potential new residents.

At a meeting on March 14, councillors delayed making a decision until a working party visited the site.

After that inspection, they were unable to reach a verdict again at a meeting on April 11.

Members requested more information on a suggested 2.2-metre acoustic fence between the village hall and the plot.

The proposal had been recommended for approval, stating in the planning committee’s agenda that the barrier would “mitigate potential noise pollution to an acceptable degree”.

Ward councillor Cllr Pat Sandle (Con) said: “The fence will not go up high enough for one, but also it will cut out all the natural light to the hall.

“The site is a buffer between the holiday camps and the hall, and to me that is a perfectly good reason.”

She added if the proposal were granted, “my phone is not going to stop ringing” due to complaints about noise from the building works.

Cllr Sandle said she might have agreed to “two or three” homes on the plot but she would struggle to see how five would fit.

Other objections include concerns about less space for cars along Wing Road, in particular for disabled drivers.

In the past, the village hall committee had tried to buy the land to turn it into additional parking spaces, but owners P and G Taylor Ltd made the application to develop it