TOWN Hall bosses have welcomed the end for speculative planning developments in Tendring.

The district has been inundated with applications for thousands of homes in recent years because Tendring Council had not identified a five-year supply of housing, as stipulated by the Government.

Its local plan was due to be replaced in 2011, but suffered repeated delays.

It meant there was a “presumption in favour of sustainable development” which councillors claimed led to the district being exploited by developers.

But now a planning inspector has ruled a blueprint for development in north Essex, which includes a new garden community on the Colchester/Tendring border, can be found legally sound.

Tendring Council is set to formally adopt section one of its local plan, which runs until until 2033.

A report, which will go before the council’s local plan committee next week, said the adoption will mark a “significant milestone” as it will formalise the housing requirement for 550 new homes each year in the district.

It added the plan will also strengthen the council’s defence against unwanted and speculative housing development proposals.

Tendring Council leader Neil Stock said: “This will give us much more control over the planning process and give residents more confidence in the planning system.

“The situation had led to some unfortunate speculative developments popping up.

“Some developers aggressively sought permissions and would also land bank after getting permission.

“They wouldn’t start building so the housing requirement was not met and they could get further permissions for even more homes.

“It had taken a long time to get to this stage as the goalposts have been moved by the Government a number of times.

“It has seemed never ending and incredibly bureaucratic, but now we can see light at the end of the tunnel.

“It won’t completely stop speculative applications, but now we have a weapon with which we can shoot them down. Before now there was little we could do to stop them.”

A final decision on adopting section one of the local plan is expected to be made at a meeting of the full council later this month.