THE threat of major development at Dry Street, Basildon, has returned.

Essex County Council has suggested 183 acres of green belt farmland it owns, between Dry Street and the A13, could be suitable for development.

Previous proposals for the beauty spot suggested it could hold at least 1,200 houses, a primary school, plus a shopping and community centre.

Officials from the county council have written to two tenant farmers, who run Northlands Farm and Dry Street Farm, to say they have identified the land as sites for potential re-development.

Now supporters of last year's successful Save Dry Street campaign, which was run by the Echo, fear Basildon Council will register the farmland as suitable for housing, in a local development plan it is currently putting together.

Geoff Williams, Lib Dem group leader on Basildon Council, said: "Just over a year after stopping the other plans we face a new threat.

"This is a major concern for the area."

Ken Gray, who runs Northlands Farm, said: "Three years ago Essex County Council was about to sell the farms to us, but it pulled out at the last minute.

"I had always hoped to buy it in the future and carry on farming, but now it is up in the air as it looks like they want to build houses."

Last year's Save Dry Street campaign halted plans by English Partnerships, to build 1,200 homes on land on the other side of Dry Street.

Emily Banfield, a county council spokesman, said: "Basildon Council recently asked interested parties to identify for consideration possible sites for future development. We have responded with suggestions, including land south of Dry Street, which gives the opportunity for a full discussion into how they want the area to develop in the future."

The redevelopment of the farms was touted in the late 1990s, by Government regeneration agency English Partnerships which said expanding south of Dry Street would help meet Basildon's needs for extra housing.

Basildon MP Angela Smith said: "I would be very surprised if the council accepts this site. It has made it clear it does not want development in this area. If it has tenant farmers already then it has value as agricultural land. This is clearly a money making exercise."

l SAVE Dry Street campaigners could argue every cloud has a silver lining.... as it looks like the original site earmarked for development will be spared.

English Partnerships, which owns the land between Basildon Hospital and Longwood Equestrian Centre originally touted for development, has not put the site forward for Basildon Council's new development plan.

The agency previously said future use of the site would be determined in the local authority's plan.

If it does not submit it for consideration, the prospect of any sort of building on the area looks unlikely.