SIXTEEN new homes planned for Arkholme have been backed by planners, despite local concerns and 31 letters of objection.

Applicant Edward Hayton was seeking consent for details such as layout, appearance and landscaping, having already received outline planning permission back in January 2016.

The two-storey dwellings proposed for a one-hectare plot of farmland east of the village's Methodist Church were objected to by Arkholme with Cawood Parish Council.

Morecambe and Lunesdale MP David Morris had raised concerns about extra traffic on "already dangerous" rural roads; changes to the "fabric" of the village; and pedestrian access to the new houses being "arguably unsafe".

However, Lancaster City Council planning officers recommended the plans be backed, saying they featured "positive improvements" to lessen the impact on residents living at The Sheiling close by. They said any harm to the conservation area would be "outweighed" by new homes being built in the village.

Six of the dwellings are to be affordable, and all are to be constructed using natural stone and slate, and timber windows and doors.

Fourteen members of the planning and highways regulatory committee voted in favour of the scheme, and one member abstained.