Controversial plans for a nuns' retirement village on the outskirts of Ditchling have been approved.

More than 100 people packed into the village hall for a meeting where Lewes District councillors backed the scheme to overhaul St George's Retreat.

Now the scheme will be put before the Secretary of State for the Environment, who will decide if the plan for 235 retirement flats should go to a public inquiry.

St George's Retreat, run by the Sisters of Augustine of the Mercy of Jesus, is one of the largest nursing facilities for the elderly in Sussex and provides almost a fifth of the care in the district.

But under new legislation the facilities need to be refurbished and the nuns say they can only fund the work by expanding the existing site.

They want to convert the retreat into a 60-bed nursing home with 121 residential units. On top of that, they want to provide a further 235 retirement flats on nearby land.

The plans sparked concern among villagers about the impact on the surrounding area but planners decided that the scheme should get the go-ahead.

Sister Mary Thomas, of St George's Retreat, said: "It was a very crowded meeting but we are very pleased with the outcome.

"This is a great step forward for us. We have been working on this for about three years and we need this development to fund the nursing care facility.

"A lot of the people who are against the plan were worried about traffic but I hope the meeting may have calmed those fears."

The Sisters of Augustine have been providing nursing care at the site since 1866. They look after 193 residents at the home.