Scores of people packed into the Melbourn’s community hub on Friday to take part in the consultation for proposals of 160 new homes in the village.

The development site Countryside Properties propose to build on is along Cambridge Road, linking the village college end of Melbourn with the A10 near the Wyevale Garden Centre.

A parish council spokeswoman said: “The great majority of residents attending expressed and gave their concerns over the continued speculative development being forced on the village.

“The parish council has stressed on many occasions in the last four years about the severe impact on local services such as health, education and traffic.

“The worst potentially of all this is the issue of sewage. The loss of very good agricultural land is also of concern.”

Parish councillors were on hand to help residents with finding specific information within the submitted plans, so that they could make an informed decision.

Nearly 90 villagers attended the evening, and – of the 65 people who left feedback – six were in favour, 56 against and three expressed no opinion.

Melbourn Parish Council recommended to refuse the application and requested that it go to South Cambs District Council’s planning committee, and the spokeswoman said the parish council will continue its commitment to keep the village informed of developments.

A spokesman for Countryside Properties said:“The proposed 160 home development includes a balanced mix of one bedroom to five bedroom properties, of which 40 per cent will be affordable homes.

“We believe our approach is respectful to the existing area, while providing a much needed diverse mix of well-designed new homes and a high quality public realm.”