Plans to build more than 130 homes on a council estate have been rejected amid fears they would cause overdevelopment.

There were cheers from a packed public gallery as Barnet Borough Council’s planning committee voted against the proposals for the Granville Road estate, in Childs Hill, in Hendon Town Hall this evening.

The plans would have seen Beech Court, comprised of 21 homes, demolished and 132 new homes built in blocks up to six storeys high.

Concerns were raised about the density of the scheme, increased traffic and pollution and the loss of green space, as well as the strain on public services and school places.

Fears were also raised about the loss of 16 social rented homes. Despite the fact that 35 per cent of the new housing would have been affordable, it would have been shared ownership, meaning people would have to part buy the properties.

The authority received 15 petitions opposing the plans containing 746 signatures, while 215 letters were also received – all but two containing objections.

The committee heard impassioned pleas to reject the scheme from residents’ associations and Childs Hill councillors Jack Cohen and Shimon Ryde.

Nick Papadimitriou, chairman of Granville Estate Residents’ Association, said: “I do appreciate there’s a need for new housing in Barnet, but this is way over the top.”

He said it felt the project was "being pushed on us", and urged councillors to think of their “fellow citizens” living on the estate.

He added: “I trust your decision will not amount to a betrayal of their concerns."

Susan Berry, from the CLAN association on the estate, said the density on the estate was already “way too high”.

She explained how the plans provided no new community facilities, and that existing ones, such as Childs Hill Library, were already under threat of closure.

Ms Berry told the committee: “The proposed development takes away a whole lot more than it gives back to the community. The sheer scale and mass of this development changes the character and balance of the area.”

Cllr Ryde said a “staggering” amount of objections had been raised to the “unacceptable” application.

The Conservative councillor added: “The report gives little consideration of the pressures this will place on the neighbourhood. There seems to be no understanding of the value given to the public space.”

Matthew Blythin, representing the developer DHA Planning, told the committee the scheme would create an “attractive, inclusive estate”.

He added: “I can assure members objections were not taken lightly. It inevitably results in a loss of space but the application is of high quality design.”

The scheme was rejected on the grounds of a loss of social rented housing, a loss of open space and a failure to provide adequate community facilities, with Conservative councillor Stephen Sowerby joining the committee's Labour members in voting against it.