TEN months after Thurrock planning councillors approved a zero carbon green belt development near South Ockendon, overruling the objections of planning officers, its developers received a Christmas present when the council finally signed off the paperwork last week.

Almost unanimously, with just one objection, councillors welcomed the scheme for Kemps Farm, which will feature 27 new homes. Residents will buy plots on an infrastructure prepared site and then build their own homes, all of which must be zero carbon homes and environmentally friendly.

Among the support shown by councillors, contrasting the disapproval; from officers, committee member Angela Lawrence said: "It appears we are not trying to work with the applicant to make this work. I am sure the council has been instructed to give support to self-build homes and this applicant has shown he can be trusted to show he can build in a good way.

"I think we have to have a bit of an open mind here and work with this rather than say 'no, no, no!' The council have to give custom builders the areas to build."

Cllr Sue Sammons said: "It's a zero carbon build and the people are going to be sympathetic with that and already own electric vehicles. People like something that's a little bit different, not run of the mill. I think carbon zero is something the council should be supporting, not going against."

And Cllr Gary Byrne, often a critic of schemes in the green belt was also a supporter, saying: "I love zero neutral, this ticks every single box for me."

Committee chairman Tom Kelly also gave his seal of approval to the green light for the gren belt development and said: "The fact is that is you go past you can barely make out the site. I can't see how it will have a visual impact on the countryside."

With planning approval granted in February and confirmed at a second meeting a month later as per the council's constitution when councillors go against an officer recommendation, it was hoped that work on the site would start in the summer.

However, bureaucracy has appeared to intervene and council officers, perhaps in a fit of pique because they had been overruled, appeared to delay completion of the paperwork and the signing of the Section 106 agreement – the commitment by developers to offer support to the local community.

But is has now been signed off and it is anticipated the development will go ahead in the new year.