PLANS to build more than 200 homes in an old quarry return to Plymouth City Council this week after councillors made a second visit to the site.

They have also asked for more information about the £43million development by Barratt Homes.

The Exeter-based company wants to build a waterside community of 222 homes on former Ministry of Defence land in Hooe.

Members of the planning committee are recommended to give conditional approval to the full planning application on Thursday.

Residents, who have overwhelmingly opposed the plans, say they fear traffic chaos, the loss of wildlife and overcrowding of local facilities.

Barratts originally proposed 300 new homes, but dropped the figure to 222 in the face of local pressure.

The six-year project would include 22 apartments, four one-bedroom homes, 47 two-bedroom homes, 120 three-bedroom homes and 31 four-bedroom properties, including affordable housing.

Since the consultation the company has proposed a footpath to improve pedestrian safety along Barton Road and proposed a mini-roundabout at the junction of Barton Road and Hooe Road to calm traffic.

Local campaigners say the development would add to traffic and create a bottleneck on the only road in and out of the Hooe, Turnchapel and Mount Batten peninsula.

The Turnchapel and Mount Batten Residents Association is worried that there is little space at local schools, dentists and doctors' surgeries, and fear that the local sewerage system would be overwhelmed.

Since the last meeting Natural England has told the council that it has no objection to the proposed development and is satisfied that there will be no disturbance of protected species.

Barratts has agreed with South West Water to make improvements to the sewerage system to cope with the extra homes.

Councillors will be advised that there is a strong case to relax the amount of money required from the developer to pay for the impact on local amenities because of the high cost of cleaning up the former MoD fuel storage depot.

A nearby bus stop will be redesigned as part of changes to the junction of Barton Road and Hooe Road.

The bus stop will be on the carriageway rather than in a layby, and will include a bus boarder and a central island with a keep left bollard on Hooe Road next to the stop. Once a bus has stopped, following vehicles will not be able to overtake on the approach to the roundabout. This will act as a further traffic calming and highway safety feature.