Residents of West Row have been told they have a “golden opportunity” to have a big say in a bid to develop houses in the village.

The message comes from Forest Heath District councillor James Waters in the wake of vocal opposition to plans to turn land east of Beeches Road into 131 houses.

The leader of the council and West Row representative revealed that the applicants, which include his brother and Suffolk County Council, are likely to come back with a revised plan for less houses.

At a public meeting on Saturday Mr Waters faced strong questioning from villagers over the proposal, but left frustrated that he was unable to give all the answers.

Bethany Bosomworth, 39, lives on Chapel Road, and has two young children living in the village. She is a member of an action group opposed to the development.

She said: “The roads in our village and the school could not take the extra influx of cars and people that the new houses would bring.

“I don’t know whether the revised number of 70 to 80 that Mr Waters spoke about at the meeting would be appropriate. If you add up those houses and other developments that are in the pipeline, it will be a big increase in homes. We moved here from Surrey in 2013 to get away from over development.”

Despite “personal” and angry questioning at the meeting on Saturday, Mr Waters stressed that he was trying to get the best outcome for the village.

“I live and work here in West Row, I don’t want to do anything that would destroy the village,” he said.

“I want to get the views of the majority and take that into discussions with developers, who are not a profit hungry agency, it is a golden opportunity,”