SOUTHEND councillors have issued calls to challenge the Government’s requirement for 28,000 new homes in the city after uniting to oppose development on green belt land.
The pledge follows a cross-party vote earlier this week reaffirming the council’s commitment to protecting the green belt, with Conservative, Reform, Green and independent councillors backing the motion.
Councillors are now turning their attention to the Government’s housing target, arguing the figure is unrealistic for a densely populated city with limited land available for development.
The row comes after Southend Council paused work on its long-awaited Local Plan, which had identified space for 14,700 homes, including 4,900 on green belt land at Bournes Green Chase. Council leaders acknowledged the draft plan did not have enough support to progress.
James Courtenay, leader of the Conservative group, said Southend needed a new planning blueprint but insisted it should reflect local circumstances rather than central Government demands.
“Residents have consistently told us the green belt should be protected, not turned into a concrete sprawl,” he said.
Reform group leader Tony Cox described the housing target as “arbitrary and pie in the sky” and called for a fresh assessment of the city’s actual housing need.
“If any plan is put forward proposing to designate the green belt for development, it will not have our support,” he said.
Green councillor Stuart Allen said Southend needed more homes, particularly affordable and social housing, but argued the city’s remaining green spaces should not be sacrificed.
“Southend is a peninsula with finite land. We need to think sustainably about future development, and infrastructure must genuinely lead,” he said.
James Miller, leader of the Southend Confelicity Party, welcomed the growing opposition to the housing targets, saying councils should tell ministers the figures are “wrong”.
However, Labour council leader Daniel Cowan warned that rejecting the Government’s targets would not resolve the city’s long-term planning challenges.
He said the council would seek additional time from Government to explore whether alternative approaches could withstand scrutiny from planning inspectors.
“If there is a credible and lawful way to improve the draft, we should find it,” he said.
But he added: “The uncomfortable truth remains that Southend’s existing planning framework is badly out of date.”
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