Wickford London Road 49 new homes given the go-ahead

At a Basildon Council planning meeting on Wednesday, councillors voted in favour of the new development on land behind London Road, Wickford.

The plans will see an abandoned home on the street demolished to create a new access route to the 49-home development.

In the report, it was revealed that eight objections have been made by neighbours raising concerns over “overdevelopment of the site”, “lack of car parking”, “lack of local infrastructure”, and “impact upon the transport network”.

However, seven councillors voted in favour of the plans, with four against.

Don Morris, Conservative councillor responsible for Wickford Castledon, welcomed the plans.

He said: “To say it is green belt land was a stretch in my opinion.

“I have been down there, and it is patch of concrete, and old barns. It is really a mess down there.

“So, I think it will be an improvement to have some houses built on it.”

Mr Morris said the homes were needed to help young people get on the property ladder.

He said: “Also, I get people in their 30s complaining to me about the lack of affordability of housing, still living with parents and would like opportunity to buy a place of their own.

“I think these additional homes will help to not only hold prices down but gives them an opportunity to get their foot on the ladder.

“I think with the amount of people now working from home you don’t get the same sort of traffic movement you got years ago. To some extent you have rush hour in the morning and in the afternoon, but a lot of people do work from home and times have changed.”

Ahead of the meeting, concerns were raised by Wickford Town Council around the access from the site to London Road due to traffic volumes.

It said: “London Road is a key route into the town and is congested at peak times. The proposals could see queues of traffic back onto the estate, blocking the sight lines for drivers pulling out onto London Road. This is an issue at other existing nearby junctions.”