Plans to build a home on a farm near a Norfolk village have been denied over a lack of evidence to prove the development would not harm the environment.

The applicant - Alec Crisp - hoped to build a two-storey home with four bedrooms on land off Swanton Morley Road in Worthing, near Dereham. 

Plans were refused by Breckland Council because not enough information was provided to outline how Mr Crisp's development would mitigate nutrient neutrality among other concerns.

The site lies within the catchment area for the Broads and the River Wensum.

A report from Breckland Council said: "Insufficient information has been provided to demonstrate that the proposal would not cause adverse impacts to the integrity of protected habitats, including the River Wensum Special Area of Conservation and the Broads Special Area of Conservation.

"This application has been screened, using a precautionary approach, as likely to have a significant effect on the conservation objectives either alone or in combination with other projects."

The report added while the proposal is considered "acceptable in principle, the outstanding matter of nutrient neutrality renders the proposal unacceptable and the application is recommended for refusal on that basis".