Maldon District Council (MDC) has received an outline application for the development of 97 new dwellings in Tolleshunt Knights.

The proposed site comprises two plots separated by Top Road in south west Tolleshunt Knights, covering 5.5 hectares of land.

Under the outline proposal, 58 dwellings would be market housing and 39 would be affordable.

The application documents address the need to support Maldon's ageing population, as 28.4 per cent of the district's population is aged 60 to 90 plus - this is greater than England's average, at 22.4 per cent of the population.

MDC has previously identified the need for more retirement properties in the district.

10 per cent of the homes would therefore be bungalows - the planning statement says that the council provided a "positive response" to the incorporation of bungalows on the site.

The proposal also focusses on responding "innovatively" to the rise in homeworking due to the pandemic, by implementing live-work units in the rear gardens of 40 per cent of the open market dwellings.

Access to the site would be via two new priority-controlled T-junctions on Top Road, with one serving each plot.

Top Road would be widened across the site frontage, which the planning statement says would "accommodate the increase in vehicle movements and improve bus access".

There is one electric vehicle charging point (EVC) proposed for each dwelling on the site.

Open countryside currently surrounds the site to the south west and north east.

The proposal is currently an outline application, with all matters except access reserved for future consideration.