A PETITION against touted plans to place 50 new park homes on an old landfill site has amassed hundreds of signatures.

Cove Communities, the owners of Kings Park Village in Canvey, have expressed an interest in putting 50 homes on the site, which is identified for development in the Castle Point local plan.

Early discussions took place between the firm and the council over the purchase of the land, east of the Kings Park retirement village.

Although, to date, no official plans have been submitted for the site.

A petition launched earlier this week already has almost 500 signatures calling for the land to be protected from development.

The former Canvey Newlands Landfill site, which operated from 1954 to 1989, is now known as Canvey Heights Country Park and is home to various species of wildlife.

Canvey resident Teresa Swann, who organised the petition, says she is opposed to any development on the land which is currently owned by the council.

She said: “Canvey Heights is full of nature and homes to wildlife.

“Badgers, foxes, moths, snakes, slow worms and birds. The park is a place of beauty to relax in.

“The area is greatly enjoyed by residents of Canvey and people from outside. Every day residents go there with their families and dogs and it is often used by cyclists and joggers.”

Ms Swann added she feared extra homes in the area would cause traffic and congestion issues on the surrounding roads.

The old landfill site where the homes would be built was used for biological waste.

A council report into the viability of building homes on the site found that although it is likely that it was contaminated with non-biological waste over the course of time, as less strict waste sorting regimes existed during that period and landfills were not subject to modern regulations.

The report gave the green light for development on the land claiming “the potential risks are identifiable and are capable of mitigation” while adding there would be a need to undertake contaminated land remediation.

“If the opportunity to expand Kings Park Village became available, we would be interested in working with the local council to deliver their local plan,” Rob Turner, resort director at Kings Park Village, said earlier this month.