Contentious plans to build 176 two and three-storey houses on two sites in Malmesbury have been strongly opposed by town councillors and residents.

Developers Persimmon Homes and Charles Church were granted outline planning permission to build houses on the 3.9 hectare site on Tetbury Hill by North Wiltshire District Council last March. At the time their plans included a maximum of 140 houses, but new drawings submitted to the district council propose 176 houses and flats, of which 30 per cent are low cost.

The proposal also includes the rebuilding of Malmesbury Primary School, behind the existing site, with the addition of 20-35 houses on land in front of it.

The sale of the two areas of land is expected to raise £7 million for its owner Wiltshire County Council, which needs £4.5 million to pay for its share of Malmesbury's secondary school at Corn Gastons, which was built three years ago.

The remaining £2.5m will go towards the rebuilt primary school .

Town councillor Charles Vernon, chairman of the planning committee, told colleagues on Tuesday night the developers were revising the plans, but he was concerned about the lack of a legal guarantee, known as a section 106 agreement, which obliges the developer to minimise impact and carry out tasks for community gain.

Charles Vaughan, from Tetbury Hill, Malmesbury said: 'The development will create more traffic on Tetbury Hill and the Filands junction. This is a dangerous junction where there have been several accidents."