GREEN belt campaigners fear they have been left in limbo as the council draws up a list of sites for 1,000 new homes.

Castle Point Council is putting together a shortlist of up to 25 available green field sites in Benfleet, Thundersley and Hadleigh, and will present a document containing each one’s pros and cons to councillors in August.

The authority has conducted the review after the Government’s planning inspector Paul Crysall criticised the authority for a shortage in its housing supply over the next 15 years.

He advised the council to use green field sites to meet the shortfall.

However, green belt campaigners fear they are being left out of the process.

Paul Guest has been battling developer Fox Land and Property’s proposals to build up to 175 homes on 12-acres of green fields between Glebelands and the A130, in Benfleet.

He said: “We have seen the odd car parked outside the fields and some one get out with a clipboard, but it would be nice to know how they are deciding what sites make this list.

“The Government is supposed to be including residents in decision making but we just feel cut out of the process.”

The Hands Off Our Green Belt campaign is battling Barratt Homes’ plans to build 239 homes on land north of Daws Heath Road. Spokesman Paul Saunders said: “We are in limbo at the moment, we just have to wait and see what comes up from this council review.

“There is a sense of apprehension but we are urging residents to continue to support us.

“I trust the council will be handling the whole matter with transparency so people in the borough are kept informed of what is happening.”

Mr Crysall is currently reviewing the council’s core strategy, which contains documents outlining where all future development in the borough will take place during the next 15 years.

In May, the inspector contacted the council with concerns that some sites put forward were undeliverable and urged the authority to think again.

Steve Rogers, the council’s head of planning, said sites would only be included in the new shortlist if they were considered in the original core strategy.

He assured campaigners they would be consulted on the new sites at a public hearing, which is likely to take place in September