PLANS to build 19 homes on a site occupied by one derelict bungalow in Stanford-le-Hope have been deferred.

Councillors sitting on the borough's planning committee decided that officers should talk to the developer about reducing the number of homes on the site and re-assess concerns they had with access to the site.

The plans comprised a combination of five, four, three and two-bed homes, complete with gardens and 53 spaces for cars.

The property built on the corner of Branksome Avenue and Morley Hill on a plot of land of about two acres, roughly the size of a football pitch.

The council was bombarded with letters from neighbours arguing that 20 houses is simply far too many. They even commissioned an independent report on the site that the proposal resulted in “a cramped form of development” which will create noise and traffic issues.

After a visit to look at the site last week, committee members decided the number of homes being proposed was too many.

Brian Little, Conservative councillor for Orsett, said: "I feel like we're trying to do too much in this area.

"With a few houses less and little bit of a redesign, this could be made right."

*At the same meeting, plans to build seven homes off South Road in South Ockendon were also rejected on the basis of concerns over "capacity efficiency" and "traffic concerns".