A RURAL village could be swallowed up by neighbouring towns if an ambitious planning application is given the go ahead, according to a parish councillor.

Property company Landfast Ltd want to create ten two bed houses, 32 three bed houses and 18 four bed houses on farmland off Harwich Road in Little Oakley close to the Memorial Club.

The development would mean creating a spine road which comes off Harwich Road but would leave land to the east clear.

Properties would be built on land which backs on to Apsen Way and Beech Grove.

Little Oakley parish council vice chairman Andrew Cullen believes if given the green light then Little Oakley could lose its identity.

“I personally do not think it will go through with that many homes and it could nearly double the size of the village,” he said.

“The general view of the parish council is we would oppose the development.

“Little Oakley needs to be kept as its own parish and not just another part of Harwich and Dovercourt which could happen with this development.”

Edward Gittens is acting as an agent on behalf of the developers and believes this development could be part of the 12,000 homes across the district in the next 17 years as part of Tendring Council’s local plan.

He said: “There is a very serious deficiency of housing in the Harwich area at present and Little Oakley has been identified in the emerging Local Plan as a potential location for sustainable growth."