Proposals for new homes to be built on an old Victorian railway track have been approved despite criticism over their size.

A total of nine houses are expected to spring up in Nash Road, Margate, where a popular route once ran towards Ramsgate some 100 years ago.

Thanet District Council planning bosses recently waved through the plans amid complaints over the buildings’ size and potential harm to wildlife.

Now, developer Rebus Planning Solutions can begin work on the estate, which it says will “enhance the appearance of the site for neighbours”.

The land was previously home to tracks laid between the town and Ramsgate in 1846, but both the line and the former Margate Sands railway station it served were closed 80 years later.

In documents lodged with Thanet District Council, Rebus said: “The homes will be high quality and complement the character of nearby developments.

“They will enhance the appearance of the site – to the benefit of local residents and future occupants.”

Furthermore, the housebuilder claims the homes will "help the council deliver housing to the district".

"The need for additional housing is keenly felt across much of the country, and - particularly within Thanet - there has been a historic pattern of under-delivery of housing," it adds.

It also claims the site, which currently houses storage containers and shrubs, is blighted by fly-tipping.

However, residents believe the homes are out-of-keeping with the area, and also fear they will destroy habitats for wildlife.

One objection says: “The houses being proposed are too large and inappropriate for the area.

“They do not meet the needs of local people. They are unaffordable to existing residents, therefore they will not resolve our housing issues in Thanet.

“Wildlife will again be forced out of their habitat. I regularly see buzzards and kestrels hunting over the site.

“Areas for wild animals are disappearing daily with the amount of building taking place across the district.

“This site needs to be left to nature.”

Birds are not the only animals locals claim reside on the patch of land.

Neighbour Kate Beerling said: “There are bats returning to the area.

“I watch them most nights around dusk and am worried that their habitat will be damaged or even destroyed.

“Furthermore, I am very concerned regarding how the infrastructure is going to cope.

“The road is only a country lane, barely big enough for two cars to access.

“There is no viable safe access to the site.”

Two off-street parking spaces will be given to each of the nine homes, as well as front and back gardens.

All of the houses would be built over three storeys, with six three-bedroom and three-four bedroom properties planned.

The station and connection line was first proposed in 1841 by the South Eastern Railway (SER), and surveyed by Robert Stephenson.

It struggled with competition from rival railways, particularly the London, Chatham and Dover Railway (LCDR), which constructed a line around Thanet to Ramsgate Harbour in 1863.

The station closed on July 2, 1926, as part of the Southern Railway's plan to connect up and amalgamate the separate railway lines around Thanet built by SER and others.

The branch line continued to be used as a goods depot until 1972, and then later as a car park, apartments and even an amusement arcade.

Approving the new homes, a council officer said in official papers: “The proposed residential development would be seen in the context of existing residential development and would represent a logical and sustainable extension to this part of Margate that would not harm the character and appearance of the area or landscape character area.

“The design references surrounding existing development within the former railway line and would not be of detriment to the visual amenity of the locality, neighbour amenity or highway safety.”