AN "ENORMOUS" 455-home mini village could be built on green belt land east of Rayleigh Road.

Developer This Land has submitted proposals to Castle Point Council for the 445-home development which will also boast a community hall, healthcare facility, early years nursery and new vehicular access from Stadium Way and Daws Heath Road.

Residents have been braced for a developer to put forward an application on the site, which comprises seven grassland fields, for several years after it was allocated for development in the now-withdrawn local plan.

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Daws Heath resident Tim Copsey said: "This enormous housing estate is an absolutely horrific proposal. It is the wrong proposal in the wrong location.  

“This land is beautiful green belt meadows, that is home to wildlife and horses. It is a vital green lung for the area.”

He added: “There is not the infrastructure to cope with such a vast concreting over of green spaces. This development would have a massive impact in terms of traffic on the nearest road junction, The Woodmans which could not cope with the extra traffic.”

The site was included in the now withdrawn Castle Point Local Plan which allocated it for “around 455 new homes”.

The plan, which was deemed “sound” by an examining inspector, was axed by councillors in June of last year following mounting public pressure.

If the new plans are approved, homes will be split into four development “parcels”: The Gateway, The Ridgeway, The Slopes, and The Paddocks.

This Land, which has pledged 40 per cent of the total homes will be “affordable”, argues the homes should be approved as “just 169 affordable properties have been delivered in the borough since 2011, and only 18 affordable properties have been provided since 2018”.

The latest Housing Delivery Test results for the borough show the council has built just 49 per cent of housing required by government targets over the last three-years.

This Land claims it is “more customer and community focussed than the traditional UK housebuilder model”.

“This Land seek to forge long-term relationships and provide a superior customer experience, rather than simply selling homes and moving onto the next project,” the firm states on its website.