Plans for hundreds of homes previously branded as "terrible" by councillors have now been approved after developers cut the height of a block of flats.

Maldon District Council approved the latest 262-home phase of the North Heybridge Garden Suburb at a district planning committee meeting.

The committee previously deferred the plans after fiercely criticising the proposed three-storey block of flats and its potential impact on the character of the area.

Applicant Bellway Home said it had listened to councillors' concerns and redesigned the scheme and replacing the block with two smaller two-story buildings.

Jamie McCathur, Regional Planning Director for Bellway Homes, said: "The reduction of height on the corner of Broad Street Green Road ensures that the character is retained with more traditional two-storey homes."

Cllr Richard Siddall, who previously said he was "appalled" by the earlier plans, commended the new design.

He said: "I think it's now a great design and it will not be something that is an imposition on that rural road."

The wider development is set to include 1,138 houses and flats, a 120-bed care home, shops, a primary school and an early years childcare.

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Liberal Democrat Councillor Laura Spencely said she was grateful the developers had changed the plans.

But she continued to say if the application had not already received outline planning permission, she would not have supported it, raising potential safety issues in Broad Street Green Road.

She said: "We have small children walking down Broad Street Green Road, we nearly lost a four-year-old autistic boy a couple of weeks ago because he ran because he was so scared of the lorries passing him at 40 miles per hour."

The wider scheme was granted outline consent on appeal in 2019. Phase one was granted permission by the committee in April this year.

According to a council report, this phase is the largest of the three sites allocated for development in the North Heybridge Garden Suburb. Bellway has acquired the parcels of land for phase two from original developers Countryside Properties (UK) Ltd.

He also said the developer expected the phase to be completed by 2026.