Planning councillors have clamped down on a parking site at Datchet Common - refusing retrospective permission for it remain in use following growing tension with nearby residents.

Denny Loveridge had applied to Windsor and Maidenhead Borough Council's Windsor area's Development Management Panel for retrospective permission to allow the site behind numbers 236 to 248 Horton Road to continue to be used as a parking area. But after a site visit members overwhelmingly decided to refuse it.

An officer's report stated that although the application proposed 67 cars be allowed to park on an area within the site, a related enforcement investigation had revealed the entire planning unit was being being used for airport parking with 400 cars being kept there.

Sam Rhodes, a neighbour living next to the site told councillors: "I used to open my curtains and see greenery. Now I see rows of cars with floodlighting and utter destruction. All the houses here are affected by this activity."

Cllr David Hilton, one of the councillors who made a site visit, said: "I counted 100 cars there. It looks a mess."

The applicant Cllr Denny Loveridge is a member of Datchet Parish Council. Councillor Ewan Larcombe - a fellow parish member - is also on the Windsor and Maidenhead Borough. He joined planning members in calling for Mr Loveridge's application to be rejected.

He said: "That site has been destroyed."

Planning councillors agreed there were no special circumstances to justify the cars being allowed to stay on a Green Belt site which is also in the flood plane

The application by Mr Loveridge had been called in for full public discussion by Cllr Gary Muir who represents Datchet on the Royal Borough, on the grounds that the cars were causing community tension with residents and a transparent decision about them had to be made.

After the meeting Mr Loveridge said he would not comment until he had made a decision about what to do next.

He has the right to appeal against the councillors' decision.