ABOUT 3,000 homes will have to be built on green belt to provide for coming generations, council chiefs predict.

Bosses at Rochford District Council believe brownfield sites can only provide a quarter of the 4,000 properties they estimate will be needed by 2027 – meaning the remainder will have to be built in the countryside.

The stark estimate comes after the Echo called for a debate – called Southend 2030 – on whether green belt should be sacrificed to build the family homes, new roads and schools which are so in demand.

Keith Hudson, Rochford Tory councillor responsible for planning, said: “It’s frustrating.

“On the one hand, I’m aware we have to provide for our children and our children’s children. I want to say we will provide new homes.

“On the other hand, I have huge sympathy for those directly affected by new development on their doorstep.”

Last week, the Echo sparked a discussion about how to cope with the burgeoning population in Southend, Rochford District and Castle Point.

Developers claimed the Government’s axing of national housing targets gave residents the freedom to decide where, when and how many new homes werebuilt. It has also cleared the way for council chiefs to move green belt boundaries to allow towns and villages to expand.

But council chiefs said the number of new homes which were built was largely out of their control.

Shaun Scrutton, the council’s head of planning and transportation, said: “What residents don’t understand is the Government says local authorities should significantly boost the supply of housing.

“That’s what the Government says in writing. If local authorities don’t carry out the relevant studies, identify the need and plan to meet that need, then when planning applications come forward the expectation is they will be approved.”