A decision on plans to build five new homes in Rockcliffe has been pushed back to allow further investigation of the road they would be built near.

Outline planning permission was granted by Carlisle City Council in February 2017 for a residential development on land north of Rockcliffe School, with plans to build five large detached houses on the site.

Details of the layout, scale, appearance, access and landscaping were considered by the city council’s development control committee on Friday.

But rather than vote on the recommendation to approve Cumbria County Council's application, councillors supported a motion by Lisa Brown to defer the decision and allow a virtual site visit to take place.

Councillor Brown said: "I'm personally just lacking that site visit to experience what it looks like and make that relation to what I'm reading in these questions and what I've just seen on the screen.

"I appreciate that we have seen pictures but I just wonder if it's possible to provide some sort of video of this one so that we can get a feel as to how it looks."

With the coronavirus pandemic making a trip to the location unfeasible, a video will be prepared to allow councillors to see the road.

Nigel Christian admitted he felt the council had "missed a trick" by not requiring the creation a footpath from the development to the nearby school when they considered the original application.

He said: "That's a great shame because we should be in the business of designing in low-carbon living and discouraging people from driving very short distances.

"I'm afraid this development will actually cause people to drive very short distances from home to school."

It was suggested that the city council could go back to the county council and ask if they would include one in the plans.

A number of objectors and Rockcliffe parish council had raised concerns which included the access being dangerous and the potential for the development to increase flooding risk, while the use of slate was suggested for roofs to stay in keeping with other houses in the village.