A disused care home is set to be demolished to make way for more than a dozen new homes in a Norfolk town, despite fears over the impact on people living nearby.

Astris Homes has been granted permission to demolish a former care home in Aylsham, near the Grade II listed St Michael's Hospital, in Cawston Road.

And the plans to build 16 homes - as a mixture of two and three-bedroom properties - were approved by a Broadland Council planning committee meeting on Wednesday, January 8.

But people living close by told councillors they felt too many homes would be built on the site.

READ MORE: Sixteen new homes set to replace ex-care home near hospital - if council agrees

Jonathan Dempsey, who lives in nearby Donthorn Court, said: "The application in its current form should be refused."

He said he had concerns about the scale, design and appearance of the development.

"The developers want to maximise profits," he said. "The council has housing targets.

"It's not hard to see why there's pressure to build as many houses as possible on this site."

But Sue Lake, Aylsham Town Council clerk, said: "This building was built in the 1950s and has no architectural merit.

"If it is being removed it is an excellent time to put right previous planning wrongs."

READ MORE: Sixteen new properties could replace former NHS care home

She added that the town council's main worry was the two bin sheds and said: "We would prefer the other suggestion for household bins."

But Amy Ferguson, from planning agent Richard Pike, said: "It has been our aim to produce a thoughtful development that will enhance the current site and add to the character of the area."

She added: "Two and three-bedroom dwellings are highly sought after in the Aylsham area.

"The model has been carefully considered and heavily influenced by the listed building."

The plans to demolish the old NHS site, located close to the former 19th-century workhouse, were referred to the planning committee by the Aylsham councillor Steve Riley.

Mr Riley asked the committee to discuss the application and said concerns existed over the scale of the properties, which were a mix of detached, semi-detached and terraced two-storey properties, spread over a half-hectare.

The plans were unanimously approved by councillors, after officers said the site was "in a sustainable location" and "will make a useful contribution to housing supply".