The fate of plans to build dozens of homes on a ‘pretty and narrow’ country lane is set to be decided this week.

Property development company Staxlink wants permission to build 32 homes on Kimbers Lane just south of Maidenhead. But neighbours have said the development would be too large for a road popular with walkers and cyclists.

Helen Wood, who owns a nearby cottage, told council planning officers: “I am very concerned about the size of the development.

“The lane is a pretty and narrow lane, and as part of the RBWM local plan this lane was earmarked as a link for cyclists and pedestrians to other areas. I hardly think this will make it safe for these journeys.”

In a statement submitted to the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead, developers noted that the land is part of an area earmarked by the council for development.

Officers pointed out that planning permission had been approved for two much larger estates nearby. One was for 199 new homes on the north side of Kimbers Lane. The other is for 215 homes just to the south, but accessed off Harvest Hill Road.

Councillors on the Royal Borough’s Maidenhead development management committee are set to decide on whether to approve the application on Thursday, July 18.

Council planning officers are recommending that they refuse the proposal on the grounds that it wouldn’t preserve a ‘green link’ for walkers and cyclists amid the new developments.