A Southend MP has come under fire for failing to reassure campaigners who fear housing planned for former NHS land at Fossetts Farm will be unaffordable for health workers.

Southend East MP James Duddridge wrote to members of the Fossetts for the People campaign group to say a planned 130 home development on Fossetts Farm should include 30 per cent ‘affordable’ homes and "more social housing would be sensible".

Campaigners criticised the comments as a “nothing response”, pointing out there is a big difference between genuinely affordable social housing and ‘affordable’ homes - which can be too expensive for many families because they can be priced at up to 80 per cent of market value.

The MP’s letter was a response to 70 letters delivered to his office urging him to back calls for social housing and saying it would be “ludicrous” if homes were built on former NHS land which NHS staff cannot afford.

It adds: “Families of five are being forced to sleep in one-bedroom flats and there are approximately 1,500 people on the council housing waiting list. It really matters that the Fossetts Farm site is used for social housing.”

Kate Sheehan, one of the leaders of the campaign group, said: “He has not acknowledged anything we submitted in our letter to him and he has not given an answer to what he will do about the housing crisis.”

Research from the New Economics Foundation shows the average sale price of homes built on former NHS land across the country is 9.6 times the average salary of a nurse and just five per cent of properties are available for social rent.

The think-tank also revealed that 61 per cent of developments have plans that include no socially rented housing at all.

Southend council leader Ian Gilbert met with Mr Duddridge about the issue and said he agreed with campaigners.

“The 30 per cent figure is what Homes England say they will deliver anyway,” he said.

“I agree with the Fossetts campaign group and we would like to see much more than this. As a government agency, I hope Homes England will recognise the local need for genuinely affordable housing.

“I’ve been in contact with them and said that if there is anything the council can do to assist with the practicality of this, we would welcome the conversation.”

He added that despite Homes England being a Government agency, the council has no input into the plans.

“As with any public or private housing plan we can discuss ways we can work together but the only formal power we have is during the planning application process.”

The 15-acre Fossetts Farm site in Southend was once earmarked for a £100million treatment centre but when plans were abandoned it was sold to Homes England for £7million in 2018. The Government housing agency is now proposing a housing development of 130 properties with the potential to build more in the future.