A major planning application, which could see 150 new homes built in Stalham, has been submitted to North Norfolk District Council.

Hopkins Homes wants to build the properties on the ST01 site earmarked for development next to Church Farm, off Ingham Road.

The scheme would also include about 1.5ha of low-key employment use, such as offices, and 2 ha of public open space.

Mark Ashwell, North Norfolk District Council's planning policy manager, told Monday's Stalham Town Council that 45pc of the homes would be affordable, about half of which would be managed by a social landlord such as the Victory Housing Trust.

Vehicle access to the new development would be via Ingham Road, with another on Yarmouth Road serving the employment area.

Town councillors feared extra traffic generated by the homes would add to current congestion problems in the town, especially at the beginning and end of the school day.

They also queried a drainage report which said the existing infrastructure could cope with the development and agreed to ask an Anglian Water representative to attend a town council meeting and explain.

Mr Ashwell said similar applications typically took three or four months to determine. It was likely that the plan would be amended following public comments and he urged the council to make its views known.

The scheme will be considered in greater detail by the town council's general purposes committee.