SCORES of concerned residents turned out to have a say over plans for more than 3,000 new homes across the Rochford district.

A display outside Rawreth Village Hall allowed visitors to see where new housing might be built - and proved so popular the council ran out of booklets explaining the proposals.

The Government has told Rochford district it must find room for another 3,700 homes by 2020.

Rayleigh would be expected to take around 1,800 homes, Rochford and Ashingdon 1,000 and Hockley and Hawkwell 400. The remaining 500 would be spread across the other villages.

Many residents in and near Rawreth, feel they will get far more than their fair share of the homes.

Alistir Matthew, chairman of Rawreth Parish Council said: "There is a lot of feeling in the village there is no room in Rayleigh for these houses.

"We think they will build them on the west side of Rawreth Lane. We are prepared to take a share, but this is disproportionate.

"We have a population of about 700 and to add an extra 2,500 to 3,000 people is not right."

Fellow parish councillor Rita Coombes's main concern was traffic around Rawreth Lane.

She explained: "The volume of traffic is unbelievable already. We can't cope with even more.

"What's going to happen to young children down there?"

Sam Hollingworth, a planning officer at Rochford District Council, stressed the proposals on show were in no way cut and dried.

He added: "It's really to promote the fact people have a chance to have a say on these options. What they are seeing isn't the be all or end all."

The exhibition can also be seen in Rayleigh High Street on Wednesday, June 20, between 8am and 2pm.

The proposal document can also be viewed and downloaded via the planning pages on the council website at: www.rochford.gov.uk