Dunton plan for 269 homes rejected by Basildon councillors

Bloor Homes has claimed the proposed development would be sustainable, with easy access to public transport and cycleways

A plan for 269 homes in Essex has been rejected for a second time following complaints about poor public transport and air pollution.

The planning committee at Basildon Council refused the proposal for the land in the Dunton area.

Councillors now expect developer Bloor Homes to take its application to the government's Planning Inspectorate.

The Conservative-led council has been warned about its lack of house building.

Tory Phil Turner, at the meeting on Wednesday, said he was concerned about air pollution from the nearby A127 for any future residents and the lack of public transport in the rural area.

"People will go there not thinking about how their health is going to be affected - they will go there thinking they have got a home," he said.

Basildon Council is yet to decide on a local plan deciding where 20,000 home will be built by 2033

The project for the land south of Dunton Road, near Laindon, proposes building on 9.5 hectares.

The committee was due to make a decision in March but that was delayed after a Labour councillor asked whether local Tories benefitted from the £2m-plus of donations made by John Bloor to the Conservative and Unionist Party.

The meeting was told the local Conservative party did not receive any donations - the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

Tory councillor Phil Turner said the affordable housing provision did not outweigh the "harm to the green belt"

The committee rejected the application when it reconvened in April and the developer responded by increasing affordable housing provision from 97 homes to 108.

Councillors said this week that was still not enough.

"Fellow councillors have commented on how bad a position this site is for people that don't have a car," added Mr Turner.

"Does the affordable housing outweigh the damage and harm to the green belt? No, in my opinion it doesn't."

Bloor Homes has previously described its plan as "significantly above" the council's requirements for sustainable housing and insisted there is the necessary transport links and cycleways.

The government has told Basildon it needs to build 20,000 homes by 2033 but councillors have argued about whether it can meet the target and where the houses should go.