A new eco-housing estate in Newport has been given the go-ahead, but one resident has said that he will "never accept it".

Uttlesford councillors voted to approve Trivselhus UK's plan to build 89 homes on Frambury Fields, off London Road, on Wednesday (September 1).

The one to five-bedroom homes will feature electric charging points, cycle spaces for each home, and triple glazing.

But one resident has said Newport's infrastructure will struggle to cope with new residents.

Mr Smith, who did not give his first name, told UDC's planning committee that he was concerned about the future of the primary school and sewage system.

He said: "We, as residents, are totally against this new application and we will never accept it."

Trivselhus UK said 25 out of the 89 units would be built as 'affordable' housing, well below UDC's expectation of 40%, because eco-friendly homes are more expensive to build.

Councillor Janice Loughlin (Liberal Democrats) told committee members that planners should find a better balance between providing affordable and environmentally friendly housing in Uttlesford.

She said: "I'm not sure giving up our affordable homes is worth building these expensive green homes that only a certain number of people can afford to live in."

Councillor Richard Freeman (R4U) stressed that rejecting the application could force an appeal, at which point the developers could decide to do away with the environmental aspect of the proposal.

He said: "If we turn this down, which is obviously what everybody expects us to do because we are the planning committee, all that would happen is that it would go to appeal, or the applicant would simply build the other design that was demonstrated to us."

Cllr Freeman said the alternative design proposed was "essentially just terraced houses."

He added: "They would be built without any of these advantages, end of."

Trisvelhus development director Tom McCartney told the committee: "There will always be development, and people object to development.

"The trick, therefore, is to try and make them sustainable, that work for the area, and when you do, it is a win-win."