A PLAN to build up to 320 new homes in Maldon on land west of Knowles Farm has been given the green light.

Maldon District Council's Special Planning Committee voted yesterday (Thursday, 20 August) to approve the development in Wycke Hill, which is to include 30 per cent affordable housing. The proposals feature a mix of housing, from one-bedroomed flats to three-bedroomed homes.

The application includes a £1.3million contribution from the developers to the planned South Maldon Relief Road, to be built by Essex County Council.

The application was voted down by Maldon District Council at a District Planning Committee meeting on 9 July over traffic concerns. A previous application for the same number of homes on the site was made in 2017.

Conservative Council Leader designate, Councillor Elaine Bamford, said: "This application was agreed before and it is a strategic site in the Local Development Plan (LDP). The reason it has come back - and this is the second time – was that the developer was funding the road and now Essex County Council is funding the road.

"This road is so important for the district and that's why we had concerns last time."

Cllr Bamford stressed the need for district council officers to "robustly liaise" and put in place a phasing plan to ensure the relief road goes ahead as intended.

The application was given the go-ahead by 14 votes, with just four councillors against the plans and two abstaining.