A DISGRUNTLED councillor claims Basildon is being picked on for new housing while neighbouring Billericay is spared.

Phil Rackley, Green councillor for St Martin’s ward, spoke out after plans to build five homes on land used by youngsters in Dengayne, Basildon, were approved by the council’s planning committee.

Tory members of the committee argued the proposal to build on green space was regrettable, but necessary to meet housing needs in the borough.

But Mr Rackley said there was a “them and us” split among the committee, as members representing Basildon town wards accused colleagues of double standards.

Mr Rackley said: “In this district we have seen lots of open space being built on.

“This particular area is fully visible from the houses of the children who are likely to use it, so they can play there safely.”

And Aidan McGurran, Labour councillor for Pitsea South East, added: “It seems development on open space always seems to take place in the new town.

“Other parts of the borough have lots of green belt land, yet we are not allowed to touch any of it.

“It seems quite a contradictory policy.

“I would ask members to close their eyes and ask themselves what they would think if this application was in Billericay.”

Mr Rackley pointed to an application for two homes on a smaller part of the Dengayne site in 1994, which was rejected because the loss of open space would be “detrimental to the area”.

Andrew Schrader, Tory councillor for Billericay East, said: “The demands of the borough now are very acute.

“I wouldn’t take any glee or pleasure from taking a recreational area away from a community.

“But if we start turning down viable developments to save a relatively small patch of grass, are we making the right balance?”

The committee voted to approve the Dengayne application by six votes to four, but at the same meeting on Tuesday night, another application for 16 homes, in St Agnes Road, Billericay, was rejected.

Planning officers recommended refusal due to flood risk on the site, but Mr Rackley threatened to support the proposal due to the “two-faced attitude” of the Tory administration.

Committee chairman Carole Morris threatened to report Mr Rackley to the council standards committee for his comments.

She said: “To actually state you are going to do this to spite somebody else is not what I would expect from a professional councillor.”

Mr Rackley ultimately abstained from the vote.

Party politics dictate housing campaigns

GREEN belt campaigners in Billericay won a major victory last April when proposals to build 1,400 homes were scrapped.

Basildon Council had earmarked the west of the town for homes in its local plan, but the ruling Tories shelved the proposals amid fears of “slaughter on the roads” if the development went ahead. It was felt there was insufficient infrastructure there.

Billericay Action Group, which had protested against the housing allocation, celebrated the announcement at the time, but it remains concerned the town may not be protected from development as the Conservatives do not hold overall control of the administration.

Attempts to makealocal plan, outlining where future development should take place, have been hindered by political parties attempting to protect their geographic strongholds.

Labour has called on Basildon to be protected, at the expense of Billericay and Wickford, while Ukip has voiced its desire to save Wickford from major work.

However, at Tuesday’s planning meeting, amid accusations of bias, Ukip councillor Alan Ball insisted he did not vote on applications for party political reasons.

Mr Ball, who represents Wickford Castledon, said: “As a Wickford councillor I vote on what is in front of me, so I think we should stop this ‘them and us’ sort of thing.”