A DERELICT industrial site looks unlikely to be redeveloped after Southend Council threw out a second set of plans for social housing.

Southend Council has refused plans to build 23 flats and three houses on the southern half of the former Albany Laundry site, situated in Eastwood Boulevard, Westcliff.

Housing association, the Guinness Partnership, was waiting in the wings to build the homes, all of which would be social housing, with Government cash – but work would have to finish by March 2015. Land Charter Southend, a firm set up by site owner Mike Burton to manage the redevelopment, has warned a new plan is unlikely to be in place in time.

The authority already threw out plans for 48 flats –athird of which would be affordable homes – on the northern half of the site last month as the development had too few parking spaces.

The northern half of site is also unlikely to be developed with so many affordable homes as cash from the Government’s Get Britain Building fund was only available if construction started this month.

Speaking at a development control committee meeting, Sally Carr, the Conservative councillor for St Luke’s, said: “It’s a site that we want developed, because we are desperately in need of affordable housing.

“I would have thought it was in everybody’s interest to come to some sort of agreement so we can have a development here, but I understand there are problems with design and parking.”