A local charity, which dates back to the 15th century, has seen its bid to build four houses on a former scout hut site in Lapworth blocked by planners.

The Lapworth Charity, which maintains a number of almshouses in the village, first submitted plans to build a short terrace of homes on Old Warwick Road in November 2020.

Trustees said the land had been unused for some time and that building property there would be "in the best interests of the charity".

But the application also stated that no promises could be made about the houses being made affordable.

"Whilst the charity would like to provide affordable housing on this site, because of the complexity of funding and development issues, it is not able to give a definitive undertaking at this time," it said.

"It may be that the funds arising from this development will have to be used to fund affordable housing elsewhere in Lapworth rather than on this site itself."

Plans would have seen hedgerows, trees and other vegetation removed for the terrace to be built.

An environmental impact assessment from 2020 said that new hedges would be planted and bat and boxes installed to offset to the impact on local wildlife.

But the district council said the plans were inappropriate.

"The proposal would lead to the urbanisation of the streetscene as a result of the loss of the hedgerow, the design of the dwellings and the visual appearance of a row of parked vehicles at the front boundary of the site," a council report said.

"The development would not lead to an enhancement nor harmonise with the prevailing character due the development's inappropriate scale, design and layout."

The council also said there was insufficient parking and cycle storage on site.

More than 30 objections were made to the scheme, including one from ecological services.

The council added: "In the opinion of the local planning authority the proposal would cause less than substantial harm to the significance of the canal conservation Area by reason of its inappropriate design and scale, which is insensitive to the site's canal-side location.

"The immediate context is characterised by more modest dwellings which are typical of a rural canal-side location and it is considered that the proposed dwellings do not respond to this due to their overly urban appearance and excessive scale.

"No public benefits have been identified to outweigh this harm."

Planning permission was rejected by delegated authority.