Dozens of them attended a meeting held at Easton Village Hall on Tuesday to voice their fears over proposals which could see the Rembrandt Restaurant demolished and replaced with a Co-op and five apartments above it.

During the meeting, which has been described as "a little bit heated at times and emotional", people living in Easton expressed their fears over the scale of the bigger building.

The parish council's extraordinary meeting took place at the Easton Village Hall (Image: Newsquest)

Some said they were concerned about an alleyway behind the proposed building attracting anti-social behaviour, while others worried about the impact it will have on traffic.

Ben Newbold, who attended the meeting and has lived near the chippie for four and a half years, said: "Certainly the consensus was no one wants it. It's 26.2 feet high and we are going to see a metal staircase in our back garden."

Mr Newbold added the restaurant is a well-known feature of Easton - a village on the outskirts of Norwich - and many wished the owners well on their retirement.

The bungalow could be replaced with a Co-op and five flats if plans are approved (Image: Newsquest)

He said: "We've got nothing against them, we want them to have a great retirement nor are we against it becoming a shop but we absolutely do not want these plans."

Another neighbour, who did not want to be named, said he was "devastated" by the designs.

He said: "It's overbearing, overpowering and it's awful. We've lived here for 26 years, we have a great community and we've enjoyed the peace and quiet of this village.

"But a 26.2 foot tall brick wall overlooking us is not in keeping with the community we love."

One man, who also did not want to be named, said: "It would be great if the developer could come out and see what impact it will have on us."

The plans have been put forward by AIM Capital Ltd along with bosses at the Co-operative Group.

According to their proposals, four of the flats will be one-bedroom homes, while one could include two bedrooms.

There will be seven parking spaces allocated to people who live in the flats and an additional 16 parking spaces - 14 standards bays and two accessible - for customers of the Co-op store.

Many neighbours said they intend on writing formal objections to the plans, after which they can only wait for South Norfolk Council to make the final decision.

© Eastern Daily Press