A community campaign group has published a report criticising plans to build the 24,000-home ‘West Tey’ settlement near Colchester.

A community campaign group has spoken out against plans to build the 24,000-home ‘West Tey’ settlement near Colchester.

The Campaign Against Urban Sprawl in Essex (CAUSE) is a prominent critic of the ‘garden community’ scheme, run jointly by Braintree, Colchester, Tendring and Uttlesford councils.

CAUSE claims that the ‘West Tey’ proposal is “too big to succeed”, and the costs of controlling the land are “extraordinarily high”.

William Sunnucks, author of the report, said: “The report demonstrates what we have suspected for some time – size matters, and no-one is looking properly at the numbers. Our analysis provides a formula to suggest what ‘right size’ actually is. Our conclusions are important for other new settlements being planned.

“We hope that Government will take a very careful look at the issues we raise and move towards well connected garden villages rather than big new towns.”

A spokesperson for the councils said: “We of course welcome scrutiny, and the points raised in the report were discussed at the recent Local Plan Examination, which we await the results of.

“Last year the North Essex Councils set out an ambition to pursue the creation of a locally led development corporation, the first of its type in the country. If and when this comes to fruition it will be supported by experts and specialists who are experienced in delivering large-scale development.”