A HUGE plan could be drawn up at any point to build thousands of homes running alongside the A127 “joining Rayleigh and Wickford into one town”.

Developer Bloor Homes has confirmed it still owns the land surrounding the former Dollymans Farm and could be used to help meet the ever-growing demand for homes across south Essex in years to come.

The issue, which was raised at two recent hustings events, has attracted universal condemnation from across the political spectrum as candidates raise major concerns about infrastructure, overdevelopment and the erasure of the green belt.

Wickford and Rayleigh Tory candidate Mark Francois fears the land ownership could lead to thousands of homes.

He said: “I first heard about these proposals some weeks ago and warned the community about them in my introductory General Election leaflet.

“It would be completely inappropriate to build on this scale, in the green belt, between Rayleigh and Wickford, which would be a classic case of totally unacceptable urban sprawl.”

Liberal Democrat candidate Stewart Mott raised similar concerns of damage to infrastructure and overdevelopment.

He said: “The prospective of new development can be concerning for residents because of our crumbling infrastructure and the lack of availability of GP appointments.

“The green belt between Basildon and Rochford Districts plays an important role stopping coalescence of Wickford and Rayleigh.

“To say Dollymans Farm, or anywhere else, is a part of the emerging local plan is rather misleading.”

Green candidate Chris Taylor emphasised the damage that would be inflicted on the green belt.

“The development of 3,000 houses on perfectly good farming land is disgraceful.

“Local services like doctors and schools are already overstretched and 3,000 houses will only compound the problem.

“Though the need for new houses is essential, it can not be to the detriment to green spaces and farm land.”

A spokesman for Bloor said: “Bloor Homes has controlled this land for a number of years which it is promoting through the local plan review process to help meet the district’s future housing needs.

The Echo approached both James Hedges (Lab) and Grant Randall (Reform UK) for comment.