A proposal to replace a bungalow in Burnham with a bigger home has been rejected, after officers said there is "greater need" in the district for smaller homes.

The residents of 47 Mill Road hoped to replace their three-bedroom bungalow with a part single-storey and part two-storey four-bedroom home.

In a statement with the application, agent Michael Lewis said the bungalow had "reached the end of its useful life" as it requires "extensive repairs and improvements".

He said the new home would "provide the existing owners with a technologically-advanced, highly energy-efficient new dwelling which will provide space and amenity not possible in the existing cottage".

However, refusing the application, a planning officer for Maldon District Council said: "The Local Housing Needs Assessment concludes that the district has a need for smaller dwellings, specifically two and three-bed dwellings.

"The biggest requirement is for three-bed dwellings, specifically 40 to 50 per cent for three-beds and 25 to 35 per cent for two-beds."

She said the plans would "result in the loss of an existing dwelling which provides a size where there is the greatest need, with a house which would provide for a lesser need".

She continued: "Whilst this harm is not considered to justify a reason for refusal in itself, it is considered that this deficiency would carry a moderately negative weight in the planning balance."

The application had been resubmitted following the refusal of similar plans over concerns about the gable roof it proposed for the home's eastern single-storey projection and the positioning of its southern first-floor windows.

Although amendments were made in efforts to overcome this refusal, the planning officer said the latest proposal would still result in "a bulky, contrived and incongruous development, which would cause detrimental harm to the character and appearance of the streetscene and wider area".

The officer also refused planning permission on the basis that the position of the proposed south-facing first-floor rooflight window and the proximity to the neighbouring home "would result in perceived overlooking and loss of privacy".