CONTROVERSIAL plans for more than 1,100 homes have been given the go-ahead by Maldon District Council.

Proposals for the so-called ‘North Heybridge Garden Suburb’, submitted by Countryside Properties, were turned down by the council in June.

The council then said it would not defend the developers’ appeal bid to overturn the decision.

Now the council has granted revised plans for the 1,138 homes despite previous concerns about the lack of a flood alleviation scheme.

Heybridge Residents’ Association chairman David Sargood, said the development would be a “nightmare”.

He said: “Councillors were persuaded by their own legal advisors to accept defeat and not fight the appeal.

“This meant that the appeal would go unchallenged and so as a result, Countryside would win.

“Countryside submitted a fresh application that was virtually identical to the one that had been refused.”

Councillors approved the plans by a majority vote.

Mr Sargood added: “Our vice-chairman, Chris Salmon, spoke at the meeting and both the parish council and Councillor Chrisy Morris made strong representations but the majority were not swayed.

“The result of all this is that NHGS can now be developed and there is no requirement for Countryside to either provide or integrate a flood alleviation scheme.

“This association is not against development – it is simply a matter of it being undertaken in the right place with adequate infrastructure.”

The association said the flood alleviation scheme was thrown out as a mandatory requirement by a planning inspector who told the council it was a separate matter.

Maldon District Council leader Adrian Fluker said: “The site is allocated for development in the Local Development Plan which was approved by the Secretary of State in July 2017.

“It will deliver the necessary infrastructure through legal agreements which will include a new GP surgery, relief road and school and will add to the council’s five-year land supply which will help to protect the district from speculative planning applications in the years to come.

"The development will deliver 330 much-needed affordable housing units for the district and I will be working to ensure these are offered to residents and those connected to the area first.”

Councillor Chrisy Morris, who opposed the development, said: “I understand we need more homes, but the size of this is going to be detrimental to everyone. There are so many different reasons why it shouldn’t have gone ahead.

“The public are now becoming aware that only good decisions are made in the election years and I believe the vote wold have gone very different had an election been on the way.

“This development is going to ruin Heybridge and put strain on an already strained system.”