VILLAGERS are celebrating after forcing a developer to re-think plans for a town house development in their village.

Residents were protesting against proposals to site 64 houses and 45 flats in Romanby, near Northallerton. This week Hambleton District Council told construction firm Barratt York, which owns the land, to go back to the drawing board after complaints from villagers and from Romanby Parish Council.

The firm wants to build a series of town houses up to three storeys high on the site of the former North Yorkshire County Council central repair depot. The strip of land runs between Boroughbridge Road and Romanby Road, next to the rail track. Residents of nearby Manor Green claimed the development was out of character with the area and would lead to the loss of their privacy.

Manor Green resident Harold Bartram, who has lived in Romanby for 46 years, said local people had no objections to the redevelopment of the site, but were concerned by the size and scale of the plans. Buildings could end up just 30 metres from existing homes, he said.

"The lounge in those properties would look directly into the bedrooms of homes in Manor Green. The loss of privacy would be absolutely huge," he said. "This is one that we are going to fight and are determined to win. It is a totally unacceptable mess of brick.

"We don't object to the site being developed, providing it is done in the right way, which is two-storey development, in keeping and in character with the rest of the village. I am very proud of my village and I am keen for it to remain a village."

He has also complained about the proposed access to the site, which is next to the Golden Lion pub. "It is the most congested area in the village," he said. "You have a pub and a supermarket there and over the road there is a dentist's, a post office and a hairdresser's. Children have to cross the road to get to the primary school."

Planning officers at Hambleton confirmed on Tuesday that they were unhappy with the scheme and were holding talks with Barratt York in an effort to come up with more suitable designs.

A council spokesman said: "We are dissatisfied with the scheme ourselves in terms of the details and we are trying to negotiate with Barratt over amendments and improvements to the scheme. "We have received about a dozen letters of objection from local people and our concerns do include the relationship to neighbouring properties."

The application is yet to be placed on a planning committee agenda but could be put before councillors within the next two months. Officials are hoping that a deal can be agreed on amended proposals