A POPULAR riding school that has to make way for a controversial housing development has finally found a new home.

Plans have been drawn up for a new equestrian centre at Whites Farm, in Barleylands Road, Billericay, which will replace Longwood.

The facility, on land at Dry Street, Langdon Hills, will be bulldozed and replaced with 725 homes, shops and a primary school.

Riders who kept their horses at Longwood have already been forced to find new stables, and owner Ian Lewington has now been told the centre will close down in September.

When outline plans for the Dry Street development were approved in June 2013, Basildon Council and the Homes and Communities Agency promised to find a new base for Longwood – but it failed to materialise until now.

Miriam Heppell, secretary of the Basildon Green Action Group, said: “We’re absolutely delighted that the centre will be replaced, but the downside is that it won’t be ready in time. Mr Lewington has been told he needs to get out of Longwood in September, but it could take two years for a new facility to be built. What is going to happen in the meantime?

“He is just one of those people who quietly gets on with what he loves doing, he’s never moaned about any of this, and I feel very sorry for him and the fact his business has been ground down like this.”

Whites Farm, which is currently home to Perry Street Football Club and FC Redwing, is classified as green belt land – prompting fears about whether the application will be approved by the council’s planning committee. The football clubs and any businesses on site will be unaffected.

The proposed equestrian centre will include 44 stables, an indoor competition arena, cafe, commentary box, an outdoor riding area, lecture room, parking spaces and land for horses to graze.

Kevin Blake, deputy leader of Basildon Council and councillor for Burstead ward, added: “My understanding of green belt policy is that it can be used for leisure use. In principle, I have no issue with the equestrian centre being built on the site. Horse riding is an Olympic sport, so this is the perfect location.

“It’s good a new site has been found for Longwood, and the new centre will offer much more modern facilities.”