FURY has erupted as two 11-storey tower blocks will be built in Basildon Town Centre despite complaints they are too high.
Plans for the 245 homes at the Great Oaks retail park were approved on Wednesday night, which will see existing empty buildings on the site demolished.
Developers GS8 Basildon Limited changed the early plans from a 14-storey building and 300 homes to its current blueprint following concerns raised by council officials over the size of the skyscraper.
Officers recommended the plans for approval earlier this month, which were given the green light at a planning committee meeting on Wednesday evening.
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But residents and Tory councillors are angry about the plans and insist the buildings are still too high.
Davida Ademuyiwa, Tory councillor for the St Martin’s ward, said: “I totally condemn the decision of the planning committee.
“This goes against the views of my residents and I’m standing with them in calling for this decision to be reversed.
“The building has no social housing and no affordable housing guaranteed.
“I’ve got concerns about there being inadequate daylight for the flats.
“This outcome is a devastating one for the area and the town centre as it sets the precedent for what is to follow.”
Residents say they are already “losing confidence” in the Tory administration, who vowed not to build high rise buildings in the town centre, as the previous Labour administration had planned to do.
Deepak Shukla, 44, who lives in Lee Chapel North, said: “People are furious. We’re lost confidence already.They’ve told us one thing and done the other.”
The former leader of Basildon Council, Gavin Callaghan, urged Tory leader Andrew Baggott to resign.
He said: “My regeneration scheme is alive and well in Basildon, but under new branding. I was straight with the public. The Tories were not. The high rise flats are coming.”
Ben Spencer, the developer, told the meeting the proposals would positively contribute to the town.
Mr Baggott was contacted for comment.
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