Maldon Town Council has once again voted to recommend refusal of revised plans to alter and renovate one of Maldon's oldest homes, following a lengthy debate in which residents had their say.

In August, the district council refused an application to carry out interior and exterior works on the house at 4 Silver Street, which is a Grade II* listed building, over concerns about proposed works to the cellar.

Although the developer, Eleven Cromwell Ltd, has now submitted revised plans which remove the major alterations to the cellar and retain the building's car port, town councillors and residents raised concerns about the two galvanised steel doors proposed for the cellar.

In a planning committee meeting last night (Monday 18 October), Councillor Flo Shaughnessy said: "There's not a single person in this room that doesn't want this building to be preserved."

But, she said: "I have a problem with the ventilation of the cellars because of the steel doors."

Speaking in support of the plans as a representative of the Maldon Society, resident Judy Lea said: "It's a beautiful building that needs to be conserved before the winter."

She said that the doors would not hermetically seal the cellar and that the works are urgently needed to prevent the building from deteriorating further.

"If the district council doesn't approve these works, Maldon town and the district stand to lose a really important building," she said.

"It's a building that has been neglected for five or more years.

"The applicant has bent over backwards to address the concerns that were raised."

Historical research earlier this year discovered the first owner of the house, at 4 Silver Street, to be a man named Josua - it is thought that he lived in the house in the fifteenth century.

The street is one of the most historic and best-preserved parts of the Maldon Conservation Area.

Judy called the plans for the home an "honest and knowledgeable tribute to the history of the building".

She told councillors that the Maldon Society "adds its support to the endorsements of several heritage specialists" of the plans - this includes Historic England.

Neil Bresler, director of Eleven Cromwell Ltd, has previously said that he is "trying to get the application approved so that we can get on and protect the building" and "protect the structure from further weather damage".

The works proposed include removing the building's rear conservatory to replace it with a glass and aluminium canopy and installing replacement windows and new limecrete flooring.

The alterations also involve reorganising rooms on the second floor to add an ensuite to each bedroom, rearranging rooms next to the kitchen to allow for an additional staircase and constructing a second staircase leading to a protected corridor.

Carl Shepherd, who lives in a neighbouring property on Silver Street, told councillors that "no credence has been given to how the steel doors will affect the structural integrity of the cellar, nor how this may affect the cellars in the adjoining properties".

He said: "This is an extremely important heritage building and that it should suffer such changes, [...] we should ask ourselves what is the importance of this?

"What is the public benefit of the changes to the kitchen area?"

He added: "We shouldn't fall into the trap of being pressured to accept the watered-down proposal."

Councillor Michael Pearlman proposed to recommend refusal of the application, citing concerns over its "galvanised doors and the extent and impact of the proposed refurbishments on the street scene".

His proposal was seconded by Councillor Shaughnessy and voted through with five councillors for and one abstention.

The final decision will be made by the district council.