SPACE for thousands of extra homes will need to be found if Basildon housing targets rise again.

Tory councillors voted to remove 300 homes in Billericay from its future housing plan this week fearing too much green belt land would be taken over.

However, opposition councillors, at Tuesday’s strategic planning and infrastructure committee for Basildon Council, claim this leaves the borough short on space to place homes.

The borough already needed to earmark sites for another 1,500 homes, to reach the Government target of 20,000, before these 300 homes were withdrawn.

And the fear is the Government could add thousands more to the target for house building during the next decade.

Labour group leader Adele Brown said: “We are in danger of not only not being able to bring forward the plan, but we are in danger of being hit with 24,000 homes as opposed to the 20,000 that we are short on now.

“Rather than be 1,500 short, we are going to be 4,000, 5,000, or even 6,000 short because of the decisions you have made.”

Committee chairman Richard Moore said: “The shortage of numbers is still short, it’s just a matter of how short.”

He explained the 300 homes were a late addition after a planned relief road near Frithwood Lane was moved in December last year.

That relief road was later moved back to its original position, following a review, but the 300 homes remained in the plans.

Planning officers admitted it was becoming “tight” to find space for all the new homes the Government required the borough to build.

The council has already been warned about delays in identifying housing sites for the next decade. If the council cannot put its plan together soon the Government could take over, and the target could be raised to 24,000 with Basildon Council losing the right to decide where.