HUNDREDS of homes will be built on Castle Point’s green lung despite residents, councillors and the MP joining forces to oppose the plan.
A letter, seen by the Echo, from a government planning inspector has revealed the borough’s housing plan is set to be rubber stamped.
It will see at least 5,284 homes, including many on green belt land, built by 2033.
Tory Castle Point MP Rebecca Harris has repeatedly suggested the plan is “not fit for purpose” despite the housing proposal being drawn up by the Conservative-led Castle Point Council.
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Government inspector, Philip Lewis, has written to the council to suggest that the plan will be deemed “sound”.
Green belt sites include land off Canvey Road and Glyders in Benfleet.
Steven Cole, Independent of the St George’s ward, said: “Our green belt is no more, it’s such a shame.
“The whole place will become gridlocked as a result. There will be even more traffic than what we’ve got already.
“I’m really worried.
“We’ve been let down by the council, not once did they challenge the numbers.”
Up to 300 homes have been earmarked for the land east of Canvey Road, compared to 196 to the west. A total of 30 homes would be built off Glyders, in Benfleet.
Ray Howard MBE, 79, former Castle Point councillor of more than 50 years, added: “It’s a really difficult situation.
“We do need to build the homes, but there has to be the right infrastructure.
“I would love Canvey to go back to the way it was before, with mostly farmland, but that can’t be the case.”
A petition was launched earlier this year to “save Castle Point’s green belt”, which reached more than 4,300 signatures in a matter of weeks.
Rebecca Harris, MP for Castle Point, said: “I am deeply disappointed by the inspector’s letter.
“We need homes but they need to be in the right places.
“I still believe that land south of the A127 at the northern tip of our borough is a better place for them. I urge the council to seek viable alternatives.”
Inspector Mr Lewis believes there isn’t “exceptional circumstances” at play in Castle Point to stop homes being built on the green belt land.
Charles Mumford, Tory councillor of the Boyce ward, insisted the “homes have to be built somewhere” despite resident’s concerns about losing out on open space.
He added: “We need to build homes, but building on the green belt is a really sensitive subject, we understand that.”
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