UPTO 380 houses have been proposed for the edge of Weeley, along with land for employment and a primary school.

Major developer Taylor Wimpey has submitted an application for a 20 hectare site north of Colchester Road, east of Crown Lane and west of Hawk Lane.

The move follow villagers this month winning a battle with Tendring Council to have the number of new homes built in the village as part of the upcoming Local Plan reduced from 1400 to just over 300.

Though more homes than residents want, campaigners admit this scheme could be the “lesser of two evils.”

Taylor Wimpey seeks to build a range of “one, two, three and four-bedroom properties” in what it calls a “stunning collection.” Approximately 30 per cent would be ‘affordable.’ The application also seeks to build a local centre for residents, which could comprise of a shop and a doctor’s surgery.

Land would also be set aside for a primary school, children’s play areas and “a large area of public open space.”

A proposed business park on land identified for potential commercial use under the Local Plan would create jobs.

Measures to tackle drainage issues are proposed and key habitats would be protected.

The scheme also followed public consultation, the company added.

Colin Crane, secretary of the Weeley Residents Association, said the application came “late in the day” but the association would survey residents on the proposal.

However, he felt the site would be better than extending the existing Barrack Field development, currently being built next to Tendring Council’s Weeley council offices.

Fellow campaigner Carol Bannister said she still thinks 300 homes is too many for Weeley, as currently proposed under the Local Plan, but the Taylor Wimpey development was “the lesser of two evils.”

Sited on land currently used for car boot sales, the proposal would not affect a field with historic ties to Napoleonic times of harm the views of a historic church, as extending Barrack Field would, Mrs Bannister added.

Coun Jeff Bray commented: “I suppose we shouldn’t be too surprised to see applications coming into Weeley following the victory for residents last week. Having seen the 1400 reduced to 300 no doubt some speculative developers thought it would be a good time to get on the bandwagon.

“Obviously, we will be looking at this and other developments very closely. This clearly emphasises the need to get our Local Plan into place. Once the Local Plan is in place, perhaps the number of speculative applications will go down,” he said.

Coun Mike Brown agreed that “with no Local Plan, we don’t have much protection” against unwanted development.

He pledged to oppose the Taylor Wimpey plan as Weeley has other schemes on the cards, which together would turn it into a small town.

“We have our fair share. We don’t want any more,” he added.