MORE than 4,000 new homes are set to be built across two Essex towns, causing concerns that green spaces are being “eroded away” reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
Proposals for 375 properties off Mandeville Way, on the edges of Laindon and Dunton, have been agreed. The site is greenbelt land and is near West Mayne.
Brentwood Borough Council previously gave the go-ahead for the Dunton Garden Village, off Tilbury Road, slightly west of the 375 homes plans. The huge garden village plan includes 3,700 homes, community and sports facilities, and four schools.
It also comes as proposals for 146 houses, to the north of the site for the 375 homes, were agreed. Basildon Borough Council’s planning committee discussed the latest plans for the area at a very heated meeting on April 22.
Reform UK councillor Sam Journet said more than 4,000 homes on a single road “sounds like an absolute load of nonsense.” He added: “The destruction of the green belt is becoming quite regular at this planning committee. I cannot support this on the basis that our green spaces are being eroded at an amazing rate. Residents don’t want this, so I’m not going to vote for it.”
Independent councillor Mo Larkin, who was the meeting chair, reminded the committee that the garden community was agreed by Brentwood Council. She added: “So we have got no control over that at all.” Kevin Blake, Tory councillor and committee member, raised concerns about the checks for wildlife and recording of this.
A spokesman for the developer said almost 40 per cent of the site will be open space and landscaping. She added: “This is not just a residential development; it will deliver homes and infrastructure together. It will deliver a new road linking Mandeville Way and Lower Dunton Road, taking pressure off West Mayne and the roundabout that connects it to the A127.”
