A BID to build seven new homes by the side of a busy rural road in Thurrock have been thrown out by planning officers.

The scheme was to create an additional seven new executive homes on land adjoining Balgownie Farm on Lower Dunton Road between Horndon on the Hill and Bulphan.

Permission was granted for an application in 2018 for eight homes on the green belt site - and then the scheme was extended to include additional garages.

Those properties are currently being marketed.

Having got that extended permissison, the applicants TJ and Julian Macalle of Balgownie Farm went back to the council to try and add more new homes to the development.

However, officers have rejected the bid, saying the proposed development would appear out of context in a rural setting. They say the new plans are out of character within the immediate locality and fail to respond to the sensitivity of the site.