COUNCILLORS could delay the approval of the Basildon’s housing masterplan so that the views of residents can be properly taken into account.

Councillors will discuss delaying the plan, which will decide where new housing will be built, at a meeting of the cabinet on Thursday, December 4.

The plan was set to be approved in the New Year but following a 10-week consultation, in which the council received more than 10,000 representations from residents, a further consultation exercise will take place towards the end of next year.

Of the comments received, the main areas of interest were the scale of growth, distribution of growth, loss of green belt, infrastructure, deliverability, lack of detail and the consultation process.

Richard Moore, Basildon councillor responsible for planning, said: “After looking at the responses to the consultation I noted that residents expressed concern that the comments they submitted would be ignored and also, details of the plan, such as specific sites, were unknown and therefore it was difficult for them to make an effective and informed comment.

“To address these concerns and to be more transparent we want to bring all the strands of the local plan together and publish everything in one major document.

“Residents felt that there is insufficient infrastructure in the borough today and that this issue would be made worse by any further development.

“The revised plan will address in more detail the infrastructure requirements for the successful delivery of the plan.”