THE Campaign Against Urban Sprawl in Essex has been branded a “Nimby” group for suggesting building Colchester and Braintree’s housing allocation in Tendring.

The Coggeshall-based group believe Colchester’s quota of new homes should be built along the Colchester to Clacton railway line, with houses in Alresford, Thorrington, Great Bentley, Weeley and Thorpe-le-Soken.

The group claims developing to the east of Colchester would be better for the local economy than plans for a new village - called West Tey - between Marks Tey and Braintree.

Tendring Council leader Neil Stock, who is also chairman of the district’s Local Plan committee, criticised the group for inviting local MPs to its meeting rather than inviting councillors who would be making decisions on the Local Plan.

“I would also challenge them over the name of the group, the Campaign Against Urban Sprawl in Essex,” he said.

“Most people are happier with the gradual expansion of urban areas rather than building large new towns in a field.

“They seem to be against urban sprawl in Marks Tey, but want it in Clacton and Tendring.

“It really would be sprawling if it meandered along the railway line.

“It is always interesting to hear other groups and organisations against large scale housing in their own back yard, but this is nimbyism.

“I fully respect that, but we are already going to have to meet the housing needs of our residents.

“If you build housing in Tendring that will not satisfy the needs of people in the west of Colchester, where there is demand for thousands of homes.

“It just doesn’t stack up.”

Mr Stock said he was also in favour of plans to upgrade the A120 in the Marks Tey area as part of development plans in the Colchester and Braintree area, which he said would “open up the whole of north Essex”.

Cause’s Alan Stones, an architect and urban designer, unveiled a map of where housing developments along the Clacton line could go - each a maximum of ten minutes’ walk from the nearest station.

He told the conference: “The existing infrastructure has the capacity to provide a 15-minute local service and a through-service to the Anglian mainline every 30 minutes.

“West Tey would not benefit the local economy and would promote car-use in the direction of Stansted and London.

“Its main justification is to promote improvement to the A120 when the focus should be to improve regional road capacity.”

Tendring is set to earmark sites 10,000 new homes across the district as part of its local plan, the blueprint for development in the district.