A LEIGH home believed to have “once been the home of Dame Vera Lynn” could be bulldozed and replaced with four flats under fresh plans submitted to Southend Council.

Developer P and PR Property Developments have submitted scaled back plans to replace the building with flats after having a previous bid to build seven apartments rejected.

Two prior applications to demolish the home, by separate developers, have been rejected by Southend Council.

The large home, at 135 Marine Parade, is thought to have once been owned by Dame Vera Lynn, fondly known as “the Forces’ Sweetheart”.

The last application was rejected after the council deemed its “excessive scale would have a significant detrimental impact on character and appearance of the site and the wider area”.

In response, the plans have been scaled back to overcome the issues.

Owen Cartey, Conservative councillor responsible for West Leigh, insisted the building has a “significant role” in the area’s history and called for the plans to once again be rejected.

Residents in the area have also opposed the plans and campaigned against them.

He said: “I have opposed similar versions of this application time and time again.

“135 Marine Parade has a significant role in our local history, and we shouldn’t have to constantly see our Leigh identity eroded.

“I have called in this application. It will come to the Development Control Committee at Southend Council.

“Hopefully with help from people across West Leigh we will be able to protect this historic home once again.

“I would like to thank residents around Marine Parade for their diligence and hard work campaigning against this application.

“Their support really helps us get the right outcome for our community.”

The planning statement, submitted to Southend Council by the developer, highlights a number of changes to the plan.

It adds: “The proposal has been carefully redesigned to overcome the identified design issues to ensure the scheme is a positive addition to the street scene of appropriate scale, form, mass, and design.

“The proposal has addressed the comments received through a reduction in scale, instead proposing a building modest in form, two storeys with a large, hipped roof and dormers to front and rear, which has previously been deemed acceptable in the street scene.”

Dame Vera Lynn was so popular among troops during the Second World War she was named the ‘Forces’ Sweetheart’ and often travelled to entertain them. She launched her career singing with the Howard Baker Band at the Kursaal, Southend, in 1939.