A planned housing development has been rejected by Shropshire Council after a report concluded windows would need to be kept closed to prevent an “unacceptable” noise impact.

The application, for the Whittington Road Sawmills site in Oswestry, had also sparked road safety concerns from residents who said the road had already seen a string of accidents and near-misses due to the number of parked cars.

The outline plans were lodged with the council last year, initially for seven houses and a block of three flats, but that was reduced to a total of eight homes amid concerns from planners about over-development.

Several Whittington Road residents attended a virtual Oswestry Town Council planning committee meeting in November last year, warning the plans would see more cars parking on the road, closer to the railway bridge, reducing visibility and hindering emergency vehicles.

The town council also objected to the application, saying: “This and future planned developments would lead to the over-development of the area, exacerbating the existing highway and parking issues in the immediate location."

Deputy mayor Jay Moore, who lives near the site, also lodged his own objection. He said: “Should this development go ahead, then traffic calming measures must be implemented on Whittington Road and the new properties need sufficient parking space for at least two vehicles per household.

“Any additional parking on the currently developed side will result in vehicles needing to park closer and closer to the bridge which only reduces visibility further and increases the hazards of the already busy road.”

Despite the concerns of residents, the council’s highways department did not object to the application, but regulatory services officers said the applicant’s noise assessment showed noise from the industrial site nearby would affect the properties.

A report by planning officer Melanie Williams, refusing planning permission for the scheme, said: “The impact of the noise could be mitigated by various measures detailed in the report but the recommended internal noise standards could only be achieved with an acoustic glazing scheme.

“This means acceptable internal noise levels could only be achieved with the windows kept shut, this is generally accepted to have a detrimental impact on the quality of life of the future occupants.

“This site is very small and has sources of noise on two sides (the road will also be a source of noise that needs to be considered) which means the ability to change the design or layout to mitigate the noise is very limited."