ALMOST 350 more homes could soon be built on protected land in Chadwell St Mary too.

Outline planning permission has been submitted to Thurrock Council by developers who want to create affordable housing at “Heath Place”.

They would be built on a 38-acre site of green belt land, by Heath Road, next to Greyhound Lane on the border of Chadwell St Mary and Orsett Heath.

Residents are staunchly against these plans too.

More than 50 people met in September to discuss ways to stop the application going through, arguing the homes would put significant strain on local schools and doctors.

A 26-year-old resident of Heath Road said: “We simply cannot see how this is going to work.

“For a start the road infrastructure is nowhere near good enough to get that volume of people on and off that estate.

“Secondly, there are not the facilities to take on that many extra people, especially with all the houses they are building on the old Thurrock Tech site in Woodview, Grays.

“They have listed these issues in their masterplan but don't say how they would deal with them.”

Developers - CJC Development Co Ltd - have consulted with Chadwell residents in neighbouring areas, and held a workshop in June and a drop-in exhibition last month.

In response to concerns regarding traffic, schools, healthcare and wildlife CJC allege to have designed a scheme which is well-integrated with the existing community, providing a new park, play area for children and green spaces, including an extension to Old House Wood and habitats for wildlife.

Financial contributions to support local services and facilities are likely to approach £1.8million.

Jonathan Chastney, Director at CJC, said: "Given an acute shortage of housing in Thurrock the Council has accepted that additional land, including Green Belt, is required in order to meet the needs of Thurrock’s communities.

"In response, we have been urging Thurrock Council to carry out a comprehensive Green Belt review to identify the most appropriate sites for development. All our assessments point to Heath Place as being a logical opportunity for Green Belt land release, delivering new homes and wider benefits in an area already identified for growth”.