A new home is set to replace the bungalow at 9 Acacia Drive, after Maldon District Council (MDC) approved the proposed plans on Wednesday, 25 August.

Permission had already been granted in 2020 for a replacement dwelling at the site, but the proposal was amended to measure 300 millimetres taller than the approved dwelling, with an overall height of 7.2 metres.

The applicant told members of MDC's central area planning committee that she had amended the proposal to make it "a little bit smaller, and a little bit taller".

She added: "It previously went through without any objections at all, and the buildings on either side are much taller than the proposal."

Councillors, however, expressed their concerns about the already approved demolition of the existing bungalow on the site.

Councillor Anne Beale said: "There is a call for bungalows seeing as the population of Maldon is getting older.

"Unfortunately we can't do anything about that."

The plans are for a three-bedroom house to replace the existing two-bedroom bungalow on Acacia Drive.

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Maldon Town Council (MTC) had previously recommended refusal of the application on the basis that its "bulk, scale and design is out of keeping with the character of the street scene".

But Councillor Beale said: "I know we're going to lose a bungalow but, at the end of the day, it's not going to be out of character - it's going to basically blend in with everything else."

The debate also centred on green infrastructure, after Councillor Flo Shaughnessy praised the applicant for including solar panels in the proposal.

Councillor Jeanette Stilts suggested adding in a condition that one of the parking spaces for the replacement dwelling must have an electric charging point.

Councillor Beale recommended approval of the application with this additional condition, which was voted through with five councillors for and one abstention.