Planning chiefs have thrown out a scheme to build to homes close to Honiton’s high street.

The application proposed the build of a pair of semi-detached three-bedroom properties on land behind 155/157 High Street.

The scheme said both homes would be served by a garden, with parking available to both.

However, in a refusal notice, planning officers said the two dwellings’ height, scale and proximity to the boundary would have an ‘overbearing impact’ on the outlook of the rear of 15 Dowell Street.

They added that the proposal would put pressure upon an existing beech tree to be removed, thinned, lopped or topped to improve natural lighting within the dwelling and associated amenity area.

This, officer said, would result in ‘material harm to this tree which is protected by virtue of being positioned within the designated conservation area’.