INITIAL plans have been drawn up for more than 200 homes to the east of Basildon.  Bowers Gifford and North Benfleet Parish Council is working on the proposals which also include a community centre, a new loop road and more, within the plotlands area of North Benfleet. 

The development site is split into two sites, one is south of Burn Mills Road and west of Pound Lane and the other is east and south of Pound Lane and covers Clifton Road, Cornwall Road and Clarence Roads. The new community centre could include a convenience food store, café, restaurant and a children's nursery. The plans state there could be around 70 homes in the southern parts of the area and around 180 new homes in the northern parts of the plotlands.

The sites are known as plotlands, which refers to how the area was developed with self-built homes and the area being divided up into various plots each with its own property and house. It is one of the largest of the thirteen plotlands in the Basildon borough with an area of around 83 hectares and around 240 dwellings. 

The plans include a new loop road to serve the new homes. A new access to serve the loop road will be created off Pound Lane and the new road will serve the undeveloped areas between Grange Road and Elm Road.

It comes as Basildon Borough Council is proposing almost 27,000 homes across the borough over the next 20 years.The plans include a minimum of 10,420 affordable homes, a minimum of 302 new gypsy and traveller pitches, 14 travelling show people yards and 69 hectares of new employment land.

The initial plans for North Benfleet state: "The vision for the North Benfleet Plotlands is to deliver improvements to the environment and community infrastructure that are sympathetic to the character and setting of the plotlands by unlocking development through the Order that creates opportunities for new homes, a local centre, new green infrastructure and enhancements to the highways and movement infrastructure.

"These improvements will also contribute to the 'one village' aspiration for North Benfleet and Bowers Gifford."