Basildon councillors have rejected a proposal to build a large housing development  in Hovefields but promised to support the creation of a neighbourhood plan.

Hovefields’ has been developing its own plan separate from the council’s and in a highly unusual move said they would welcome more than 1,000 new homes and 15 traveller pitches.

Their plan was discussed at the council’s Strategic Planning and Infrastructure Committee on Wednesday night and councillors chose not to integrate it into the Local Plan because without a new junction on the A127, development cannot go ahead.

The decision came shortly after the committee agreed to steer the council on a proposal for traveller pitches that could see 35 illegal sites made legal.

Dave Walsh, chair of the Neighbourhood Forum says this could mean seven being authorised in Hovefields and Honiley.

“We have a deep sense of disappointment, the council proposed authorising a number of unauthorised pitches and that could mean the gypsy traveller sections of our community increasingly dominate the settled residents," he said.

“We understand we will be able to pursue our neighbourhood plan but it will not be seriously considered until the first review of the local plan which could be about five years or thereabouts so we’re pretty much stuck.

“We’ve got a severe lack of infrastructure and if they authorise unapproved plots that will exacerbate that situation.

"The 1,000 houses we proposed was pitched at that number to make infrastructure provision cost effective. Any numbers below that makes infrastructure provision not cost effective, yet that’s where we feel we’re being driven to by the council.”

The committee's decision to approved the unauthorised sites was part of a measure that will allow the council to reduce the number of traveller pitches needing to be allocated in the borough.

Council leader Andrew Baggot promised he would find ways to work with Mr Walsh and the Forum to find the best way to develop their neighbourhood plan going forward.

He said: “I met the residents and they’re a passionate bunch that care deeply about their community. Their councillors are as passionate and care as deeply about their community.

"What I’ve said to them and I wanted to formalise today is that this administration makes a commitment that we will work with the Neighbourhood Forum in order to do their best to help them to achieve what they want to do.

“We know it’s going to be a rocky road, we know there’s going to be challenges within that but our commitment is to always take the view of what we can do for a community rather than what we can’t do.”

The Forum's plan was previously omitted from the Local Plan put together by the Labour administration in March due to concerns over “substantial harm” that housing could have on green belt land which separates Wickford from Basildon.