A CAMPAIGNER fighting plans for three garden towns in north Essex has accused the councils involved at "twerking" at the Government in desperate bid for cash.

Rosie Pearson, secretary of the Campaign Against Urban Sprawl in Essex, says plans put forward by local authorities in Colchester, Tendring and Braintree will never get the scale of investment they need.

Ms Pearson and fellow campaigner Angela Luxford-Vaughan, a member of Hands of Wivenhoe, outlined their concerns and their alternative plans for housing in the latest Colchester Chat podcast.

Ms Luxford-Vaughan said: "The Government has a £5 billion pot and our councils are going into competition with 40 other counties.

"My fear is we'll get so far down the line and they'll say instead of giving you £0.5 billion we'll get nothing."

The pair also discussed:

  • How they wear the "nimby" title with pride, but say garden communities will be bad for everyone;
  • That they believe only high-earning Londoners will be able to afford properties in the garden communities;
  • Their belief the councils should scale down their ambitions and build 2,000-home metro towns instead.

The podcast is also available on iTunes.

To listen to last week's podcast with Sir Bob Russell, click here.

To here our Colchester Chat with Essex County Council's libraries boss Sue Barker, click here.