Residents of a south Norfolk village are gearing up for a showdown over a much-contested vision to build 52 houses there.

The application for the new estate in Bracon Ash is due to be considered by a South Norfolk Council committee on Wednesday.

And although council officers have recommended the green light be given, hundreds of residents have objected the scheme, which has been amended several times in hopes of making it more acceptable.

But residents as well as the parish council still believe the estate would destroy the rural character of the village, more than doubling the number of homes in the immediate area, and that it would also increase the risk of flooding and cause traffic problems.

The estate, which would be built on open land off the B113 Norwich Road, would include 17 affordable and 'shared equity' homes and 35 open-market houses with either three, four or five bedrooms.

Colin Rudd, chairman of the Bracon Ash and Hethel Parish Council, raised serious concerns over flooding and the impact on the village.

He said: 'We are totally and utterly opposed to this. The footpaths are not suitable and there is already substantial flooding taking place in the winter months. The plan that they have in place for the treatment of surface water is totally inadequate.'

A letter from the Bracon Ash Residents' Group said the homes would have a 'hard-frontage design' which was 'entirely out of keeping with existing housing in the area.'

Another objector, Nick Riches, said in a letter of April 4 that the homes were designed more for an urban area than a rural one.

Mr Riches' letter also pointed out the extra traffic the homes would create as they were at least 1.5kms away from the nearest amenities, in Mulbarton.

He also mentioned the visual impact the estate's two-storey homes would have on the area, and the effects of artificial light and noise on existing residents and wildlife. The council officers' report acknowledged the development would encroach on open countryside outside development boundaries, but recommended the scheme go ahead in light of the lack of a sufficient land supply within the Norwich Policy Area.

The meeting will take place at South Norfolk's Long Stratton offices on Wednesday, April 26, starting at 10am.