PLANS for 82-new homes to be built on land currently occupied by a rifle club have been unveiled. 

The proposals form part of the major 700-home scheme, known as the Gardiners development, planned for Basildon. 

The latest 82-home application is phase four of the development, which is being worked on by Basildon Developments Ltd and Homes England.

The development site is on land occupied by the Basildon Rifle Club, which is being relocated to a new facility in Courtauld Road, east of Gardiners Park, according to a planning statement.

The overall scheme was given outline approval in 2021, with the first and second phases, totalling 76 homes, having already been completed and phase three having been given detailed approval as part of the original hybrid application.

The latest proposals include details of the homes’ appearance and would see the removal of existing buildings in the site if approved.

The application also includes plans for new access onto Gardiners Close, pedestrian improvements including a new cycle path along the western and northern boundaries, car parking, refuse and bicycle storage, new open space for the residents and ecological enhancements.

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A section reads: “The proposals unlock a number of key public benefits inclusive of important market and affordable housing on an allocated site, landscape and ecological enhancements, delivery of the new Rifle Club alongside sustainable transport improvements on site and within the local area.”

The wider scheme includes land for a new school, a new community sports centre and a wider road network linking the north and south of the site.

This latest phase would be built in the south west corner of Gardiners Park, land which the statement says is currently occupied by the rifle club.

The statement continues to say the development is “long awaited” and is allocated in both the adopted and emerging local plan.

Basildon Council voted to withdraw its latest local plan before adoption after a council meeting in March earlier this year.

The site itself is north east of Basildon town centre, with New Holland Tractor Plant to the west and Cranes Farm Road to the south.

The council will decide on whether to approve the reserved matters application later this year.