Maldon District Council (MDC) has refused an application to renovate and alter one of Maldon's oldest homes, contrary to planning officers' recommendation to approve the proposal.

Members of MDC's central area planning committee voted to deny planning permission 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.

Proposing refusal, Councillor Jeanette Stilts said: "The harm being done to the building by going through the cellar I think outweighs the good of the work that will be done to the rest of the building."

Referring to the 19 letters of objection to the application, out of 22, a member of the public told the committee: "85 per cent of respondents, including neighbours, have objected to what is proposed.

"You need to work very hard to build that level of consensus on a topic - clearly, there is anger and concern."

He added: "Aspects of the proposal, given that we're talking about a Grade II* listed building, are being viewed with concern as an effective green light for wider change."

The proposed works include replacing the flooring of the cellar and installing a new mechanical ventilation unit, 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.

The works also involve the installation of replacement windows, new limecrete flooring and removing the rear conservatory to replace it with a glass and aluminium canopy.

Historical research this year discovered the first owner of the house, at 4 Silver Street, to be a man named Josua - it is thought 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.

An MDC planning officer told the committee: "It's considered that the proposal will not result in detrimental harm to the amenity of neighbouring occupiers, parking or amenity space.

"The proposal will also preserve the character and appearance of the site, the conservation area and the listed building."

Councillor Anne Beale said: "I'd like to see it done up, but I think they're trying to basically modernise it which I can't see that you can do on a Grade II listed building."

Councillors also raised concerns, echoed by residents in their letters of objection, regarding the planned use of the building.

Councillor Bruce Heubner said: "My main concern is that this is an application for a dwelling house and the advertising from the company that owns the building tells us otherwise, that they're developing this to rent out."

In the planning officers' report on the application, it notes that "concerns have been raised in public comments regarding the use of the site as being rented out for large groups and the impact from the noise on the surrounding dwellings".

Matt Leigh, MDC's chief planning officer, reminded members that the application is for physical alterations to the dwelling only, and not for any change of use of the site.

He added that a change of use would require planning permission through a further application.

The discussion also considered the excavation work that has already been done to the building.

Councillor Stilts said: "Normally, when an archaeologist does an exploration they do a small section, but we walked into what was a building site and I just wonder why so much has been done before they got planning permission."

Mr Leigh said: "I haven't been to the site personally but from what I understand, I wouldn't disagree that maybe more work has been undertaken than is strictly necessary."

Only the four councillors who attended the full site visit were able to vote on Councillor Stilts' proposal to refuse planning permission, which was voted through with three in favour and one abstention.