The decision on whether some believed 400-500 parrots should be kept at a property will be made at a committee hearing after neighbours expressed serious concerns.

A group of residents in Battisford, near Stowmarket, are demanding action as a retrospective application to house the birds and some gun dogs to the rear of a home in Straight Road is considered.

Councillors at a parish council meeting heard claims that homes were losing value and neighbours were struggling to sleep for five years because of the alleged noise.

Patricia Godden, district councillor for the village, has now moved to have the application, made by Peter Hammond, to be heard by a committee rather than through a planning officer.

“Mr Hammond and his birds – I mean he has his reasons for having them, he claims they are his pets and they may well be but I feel it’s rather inappropriate to keep them in a residential area, but it’s up to the committee to decide what to do about it,” she said.

“It will go before the committee because I feel that the committee is full of people who sit regularly with a lot of them having done it for many years so they know what they are talking about.

“Sometimes you need to look at the rules and regulations and other times you have to put yourself in peoples’ shoes and how it marries up with the rules and regulations.”

Mr Hammond has declined to speak about the matter.

Philip Isbell, Mid Suffolk District Council’s corporate manager for development management, said: “We have a planning application currently under consideration which was received following an enforcement investigation. The ward member has requested that this be reported to committee in due course.

“We are currently consulting on the application and considering a number of noise and planning issues. It isn’t appropriate to comment further at this stage.”