Angry opposition councillors have failed in a bid to defer a decision to agree amended changes to the new Windsor and Maidenhead local plan - despite members receiving crucial details only days before Wednesday’s council meeting.

The new plan which will guide the authority’s response to planning applications for years to come has stalled in recent months after a Government inspector queried some aspects.

The proposed amended new plan runs to 3,000 pages and reduces the amount of green belt land that could be made available for development from 1.7 per cent to just over one per cent.

Other changes include the removal of roads at risk of flooding such as Straight Road, Old Windsor and areas of Datchet and Wraysbury from the list of potential development sites.

But opposition leader Cllr Lynne Jones from Old Windsor said that members had not received a lot of vital information until last week - despite major changes to the earlier plan that included the possible use of part of King Edward VII Hospital for possible development.

She said after the meeting: “It says the hospital will continue to provide services but it does not make it clear from where. They are just trying to railroad amendments through.”

Liberal Democrat leader Cllr Simon Werner called for a decision on whether to proceed with the proposed changes to be deferred until November 10 - so that members could have longer to absorb the changes to the plan. But this was rejected by the ruling Conservatives.

Newly elected Conservative council leader Andrew Johnson failed to pacify opposition members when he said approving the amendments now would not stop councillors being able to make further changes at a later stage.

But veteran Bray and Holyport councillor Leo Walters warned that further delay risked repeating the Brexit situation at local level.