PLANS to build 61 homes in Lechlade have been postponed due to unanswered questions and lack of detail from the developer.

Redrow Homes has already been granted outline planning permission to build 61 homes at the Old Station site in Burford Road, Lechlade.

At this month's Cotswold District Council planning committee meeting, councillors deferred a reserved matters application as they felt there were too many unanswered questions. A reserved matters application comes after planning permission is approved, and deals with the appearance, layout and scale of the homes.

Speaking after the meeting, Lechlade town and district councillor Sue Coakley said everyone was happy that the site was going to be developed but that the committee felt the developer had not done enough work on the plans.

"There is not enough detail and there are lots of questions outstanding," she said. "This should be an opportunity to deliver something to lift and evolve the town, not something that's just ok. In my view there are too many things here that are just ok."

Cllr Coakley said she believed the designs needed a bit more thought and added that Redrow's plans at the moment were not exactly "inspirational". Redrow want to raise the site by one metre, making the houses stand quite tall, but the councillor is worried this will have a negative impact as the homes will be clearly visible from the nearby countryside.

"When houses are built they are there for a really long time so committee want this to be best possible scheme now is the time to make sure all these things are considered," said Cllr Coakley. " We are just asking them to try harder. We are very happy with the development and the scheme - we just think that the design could be improved."

"I support the development of the site, but I want the best possible scheme for those who will live there and the town as a whole."

Visit cotswold.gov.uk to comment on the application. Search for the planning portal and use reference 12/00528/OUT.