Residents invited to shape 18,000-homes plan

People living in north-east Essex are being given a final chance to shape where 18,000 new homes should be built.

Tendring District Council must build at least 1,069 houses annually between 2026 and 2043, under government-set targets.

Among the major proposals in its draft local plan are garden villages proposed for Hare Green, Horsley Cross and Weeley, as well as a "major expansion" of Harwich.

The independent-led council said it was hosting drop-in sessions to explain its blueprints until 19 October.

It needs to find space for 8,000 homes, with 10,211 already planned at the Tendring-Colchester garden community and others at sites near Clacton-on-Sea.

Following the consultation, the council said it would submit its plan to the government for independent examination.

The drop-in events are being planned in Walton-on-the-Naze, Brightlingsea, Harwich, Weeley and Lawford.

Carlo Guglielmi, a Conservative and chairman of the council's local plan committee, said planning officers would be on-hand to answer any questions.

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