Plans for five homes on a town centre site in Bury St Edmunds were refused by councillors who felt part of the scheme was “cramped and contrived over-development”.

The application by Thingoe Developments Ltd was for the conversion of existing mixed-use properties in St Andrew’s Street North to three town houses and two new builds in a yard at the back, accessed via Risbygate Street.

Members of St Edmundsbury Borough Council’s planning committee felt it was “two applications in one” and voted 11 to two for refusal.

Their decision notice said the new-build element represented “a cramped and contrived over-development of this part of the site”.

It said this was due to the small room sizes, the closeness of the parking spaces relative to the existing turning areas, the proximity of doorways and windows to the parking area and how close the new building would be to nearby off-site property.

“As a consequence it is considered that the proposal results in a contrived form of development, failing to create a proposal that functions well and that as a consequence will be harmful to the reasonable residential amenities of existing and future residents.

Speaking afterwards, committee member David Nettleton said: “There wasn’t much going for the Risbygate Street side of it.”