Concern over homes plan for farmland and former village post office

Great Holland Hall Ltd has applied to build ten homes on land off Main Road, Great Holland.

The plans include the demolition of existing agricultural and equestrian buildings and The Old Post Office.

The one-acre site comprises the farm yard and farm buildings formerly associated with neighbouring Manor Farm and the historic Manor Farmhouse.

Great Holland councillor Dan Land said residents were unhappy about the plans.

He said: “Continuous development is having a huge impact on the daily lives of people in Tendring.

“The road network is the most impacted by the huge additional volumes of cars and passenger movements.

“Additional traffic onto the main road will cause more delays and have an impact on pedestrians, a zebra crossing is a much-needed addition on this piece of road and should be considered as a highways recommendation.

“The open countryside views to the rear of this development are one of natural beauty and this development would place more urban sprawl in a rural setting.”

Nearby resident Rob Diss, from Manor Road, said he also strongly objected to the application.

He said: “If granted this application will bring traffic chaos to the area and a poorer quality of life to residents.

“It will impact heavily on local horse owners and have an impact on local wildlife.

“There are a number of residents in Manor Road who moved to the area because of the horse paddocks at the rear of their gardens and their beautiful views down to the North Sea.”

A report by the developer said three-bedroom bungalows and houses would be of a traditional agricultural appearance and that there would be “limited harm to the neighbouring heritage assets”.

It added: “The design concept retains a farmyard form with contemporary buildings reflecting the form of farm buildings.

“The visual harm caused by the gradual dereliction of the existing farm buildings is replaced by visual enhancement.”