A housing developer has been given the green light to add extra homes to a new Kenilworth housing estate.

Persimmon Homes has been given the go ahead to add five extra houses to the next phase of its development at Thickthorn.

Warwick District Council (WDC) signed off on the plans this month, meaning the company can build 149 homes, instead of the 144 previously agreed.

Signing off on the changes, a WDC report said: "The site retains the previously approved characteristics of a leafy, well designed residential neighbourhood within which open space and structural landscaping is an integral part, paying particular regard to the areas of public open Space to the centre and on the fringes of the development. 

"The large area of open space to the east provides a soft edge to the boundary with Rocky Lane."

Plans show 40.86 per cent of the houses in this phase will be 'affordable homes'.

While Kenilworth Town Council did not object to the application, town councillors did raise concerns with the submission.

"It is classic developer's tactics," Cllr Peter Jones said at a meeting earlier this year.

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"They have got approval for a certain number of houses and now they want to change the plans to increase it."

The WDC report continued: "Officers consider the revised plans would provide five additional dwellings whilst maintaining a proposed development that would provide a high-quality residential environment in accordance with the garden suburbs principles, including an appropriate mix of market and affordable housing and acceptable dwelling house and layout design solutions, including landscaping and substantial areas of public open space."

The housing developer was given outline permission for 550 homes and a primary school on the Leamington Road site in 2021.

Reserved matters applications - which deal with the designs of the houses and roads - have been signed off for all three phases of the development.

Town councillors have previously raised concerns that the whole development does not meet the 'Land East of Kenilworth Development Brief' - a major planning document designed to instruct building in the area.

See the latest application here.