Plans for 110 new homes in Lawford have faced hundreds of objections from residents with one district councillor saying the “unwanted and unnecessary” development would “put the village out of kilter”.
The application for homes off Grange Road has faced fierce criticism from the community, with 266 objections submitted to Tendring District Council’s planning team.
The application is set to be decided by the council today.
The project has been put forward by developer Gladman, which argues the proposal has been carefully considered to provide a “sustainable development”.
Its planning statement reads: “The development will be a positive addition to Lawford complementing the character of the surrounding area in terms of scale, density, character and quality.”
However, those who object say the infrastructure and roads in the area are already at “breaking point” and would not cope with the influx of new vehicles.
They further argue that the district has already verified 6.2 years of deliverable housing sites so does not need to build more.
Councillor Carlo Guglielmi, deputy leader of Tendring District Council, said: “I very much hope it doesn’t get approved, It doesn’t even deserve to go before the planning committee.
“It is in the middle of the countryside and they have got to gain access from one of the most unaccessible roads in the district.
“It is a school lane.
“I have got to say I am impressed with how the community have organised to make sure as many people as possible put objections in. It is now near the 300 mark. They have all been individual objections too. It is not just one person who put a letter out for people to put their names to. They have all raised different issues, although the biggest is its rural location. It will put the village out of kilter. It is completely unwanted and unnecessary.”
John Hall, who lives in Grange Road, said: “We understand we need to build houses but they need to be in the right place and the right type of homes, to enable the local community to expand.
“It is a disproportionate number of homes to add to the area and an inappropriate place to build.”
No-one from Gladman could be reached for comment ahead of this paper going to press last night.
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