Two Melbourn district councillors, who have campaigned tirelessly against plans to build 199 houses in the village, have said they are overjoyed the application has been turned down today.

The application for a site off New Road by Endurance Estates was voted against by South Cambridgeshire District Council planning committee at a meeting this afternoon.

The councillors voted 11 against and one in favour.

District and parish councillors Jose Hales and Val Barrett said: “We were surprised but delighted with the decision. Effectively, a concrete block would have been built on rolling farm land. We would like to extend our deepest gratitude to members of the community who have supported the council, and for their efforts over the last eight months in building a case against this.

“Special thanks to councillor Julie Norman who led the Melbourn futures committee.”

The application was also rejected due to the accumulative strain on resources it would cause.

An application for 220 homes in Barrington at the former cement factory site was accepted at the same meeting.

Councillor Aidan Van de Weyer, district councillor for Barrington, was disappointed with the committee’s decision.

He said: “The issues are around the sustainability of the site, on many levels. There will be no services on site, and there are very few in Barrington now, so people will have to leave the village for almost everything.

“The estate is quite separate from the village, linked only by a couple of narrow winding paths, so it will be very hard to make it integrate the new estate into the existing village.

“There is almost no public transport or local employment, so almost all travel will be by car, which means the site will be quite unsustainable.”