INCREDULOUS planning bosses in Tendring have hit back at Colchester MP Sir Bob Russell following a spat over homes planned for the district’s boundary.

The Lib Dem MP criticised Tendring Council after it provisionally allocated 3,000 homes for the “Colchester fringe” as part of its draft Local Plan.

Tendring planning boss Carlo Guglielmi said its original plan for 6,000 extra homes across the district had been axed partly due to objections from Colchester Council.

Government inspectors have now told Tendring it must build 12,000 homes over the next 17 years.

Sir Bob said Tendring’s blueprint for growth was a “planning outrage” and called on Colchester Council to get tough and “refuse to play ball” with Tendring.

But Mr Guglielmi has hit back, saying: “It’s just pitiful that people like Bob Russell, in his position, should choose that type of language instead of working together with us to achieve the same aim.

“There is a huge amount of scaremongering here.

"We can’t build houses out to sea. Colchester has four square borders - we have got two and our biggest one is with the North Sea.

“Unless we build piers or houseboats, we are not going to get very far with the plan without building some homes close to Colchester.”