District councillors have thrown out a plan to build 30 new homes in Dunmow.
Developers said the plans would add to a scheme on St Edmunds Lane which is already underway.
Uttlesford District councillors gave 22 new homes the green light on St Edmunds Lane last year, but said an extra 30 could blight the countryside.
Objecting, Councillor Judy Emanuel said: "You have got a development surrounded on three sides by open countryside.
"That to me isn't a natural extension of housing development.
"It's really urban. It's sticking right out into agricultural fields."
Councillors voted not to approve the plans seven votes to three.
At Uttlesford District Council's Planning Committee meeting on Wednesday, June 9, a developer said the site was chosen because it is concealed by woodland and existing housing.
The developer added there is a high demand for self-build housing in Dunmow, with 17 people already registering their interest in the plan before it was rejected.
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