THURROCK councillors are set to weigh up the pros and cons of a controversial housing development that could see 1,000 homes built on green belt – despite almost 200 objections.

An application for outline planning permission for a development in Linford of up to 830 homes if the Lower Thames Crossing is constructed or 1,000 homes if it does not go ahead will be debated by the planning committee on Tuesday (9 July).

The application includes a new primary school, health centre, new road network and a bridge crossing the c2c rail link.

The council received 180 objections to the proposal following consultations launched last year which closed in May.

These included fears access to the site was unsafe, additional traffic, urban sprawl into the green belt and loss of farmland and wildlife.

Residents were also concerned the area is already overdeveloped and underfunded with "severe shortages of social infrastructure". One described the long drawn out application as "a black cloud hanging over residents".

The council's highways department has also objected to the scheme over fears of the impact it would have on the local road network.

The site measures 184-acre site consists of three parcels of arable land. The first is located to the west of Linford Recreation Ground, extending to Becklands Farm, and is bordered by Muckingford Road to the south. It is this first parcel that would be excluded from the scheme should the Lower Thames Crossing development proceed.

The second parcel is south of Muckingford Road but north of the railway line and the third is south of the railway line, extending to Love Lane.

The plan was first submitted in 2016 and was originally recommended for refusal. It would have normally been submitted to the secretary of state for a final decision but it coincided with plans for the Lower Thames Crossing which have yet to be determined.

The applicant, Cogent Land LLP, has now submitted an appeal over non-determination and the planning committee's decision will form part of the council's case for the appeal.

425 separate documents are now lodged on the application's record on Thurrock Council's planning portal, with more than 209 comments, most from local residents who damn the proposals.

Unusually the application is in two parts depending on the future of the Lower Thames Crossing and councillors will be asked to decide on both.

If approved the applicant would be expected to make an education contribution of more than £9million for 830 homes or more than £11million for 1,000 homes. Contributions to the NHS would be £428,700 or £516,800 respectively.

In a report to the committee, planning officers said: "The proposals are inappropriate development in the green belt, would lead to the loss of openness and would cause some harm to the purposes of the green Belt."

Among those pledged to speaking against the plan is East Tilbury councillor Fraser Massey.

Cllr Fraser Massey.

He says: "The East Tilbury ward has in the last decade seen 100s of new homes built on the greenbelt surrounding the area, 100s more are already approved but not yet built, the infrastructure recommended to support these new homes is not fully in place, so predicting what the area would require with perhaps another 830 houses is speculative guesswork. We still haven't seen the full mitigation of the existing developments.

"A lot of our greenbelt and agricultural land has already been taken away, and this application in such a vast development would change the character of the semi rural location forever, bringing significant harm to the greenbelt with little in the way of very special circumstances.

"The only real positive of this application would seem to be the building of a road bridge over the railway line, which is something which would appeal to many I am sure, but the bridge would be very expensive which makes me worry that it would be delayed and even when in place it would still mean cars would basically still be using Cross Keys at Chadwell St Mary or the George and Dragon roundabout.

"These are both not ideal and can struggle with the traffic already using them. If you were to add 830 houses with many households owning two cars, this could mean an extra 1500 cars a day on the local road network.

And although a two form primary school is included in the application, there is no agreement with the councils education team for the delivery of this school and the existing primary school is already full. Secondary school pupils have no way of sustainable transport meaning effectively more buses on already busy roads and lanes.

"I understand the NHS does not wish to build a new medical centre in relation to these plans, and the money contribution would be absorbed into the NHS, but even with current population numbers the local medical centres can really struggle sometimes, I worry how they would cope with 1000s more residents looking to use medical services which would mean travelling to existing surgeries.

"The area has a lot of older residents who want to stay in the area but would like to have the option to have more suitable properties available to them, this would free up other larger housing stock and allow these residents to stay in the area where they feel supported and comfortable, but none of these plans would solve this problem.

"The ward remains one of the very few in Thurrock without specially catered housing for older residents.

"The ward has seen much in the way of dust, noise and air pollution in the past with landfills, quarrying to name just two, and the construction relating with these homes would lead to more noise, dust and air pollution.

"I cannot support this application."

Whatever happens at the council meeting next week, the planning inspectorate hearing is set to begin on Tuesday, 1 October 2024 at 10am and is estimated to sit for eight days at the Council Chamber in the Civic Offices, New Road, Grays.

The Muckingford Road application is one of a trio of as yet undecided major projects that bracket East Tilbury. In addition to Mulberry's plans, the Lower Thames Crossing is planned to be built close to the village - as is a new network of electricity pylons.