ALMOST 100 new homes and a hotel are set to be built with just six parking spaces in total – with a senior opposition councillor branding the move "fundamentally wrong." Basildon Borough Council is behind the plans for part of the Westgate Shopping Park in Basildon.

The plans include the demolition of some of the existing buildings at the shopping park and construction of a seven storey 95-bedroom hotel with a rooftop bar and a block of 97 one and two bedroom flats. There will be 79 one bedroom flats, and 18 two bedroom flats.

The flats block ranges from three to nine stories in height and the plans include six disabled parking spaces, three for the hotel and three for the new flats. The flats will be for older people who have extra care needs.

The council's planning committee agreed the plans at a meeting on Wednesday, 26 November, during which opposition councillors also raised concerns about music and noise at the hotel's roof top bar, as well as parking.

Kevin Blake, deputy leader of the Conservatives, described the plans of parking as "absolutely extraordinary."

He added: "There should be more parking spaces, even if it's just for the disabled and vulnerable, even if it's increased slightly. I am really surprised we as a council have gone out and just think that maybe three parking spaces is sufficient. It's fundamentally wrong. For that reason, while I want to support this, I can't as it would show me as uncaring for the vulnerable."

The meeting was told how the new homes have been "designed around" a court yard and the flats block includes about 820 square metres of court yard and rooftop communal and amenity space as well as communal living and dining areas on the ground floor of the block.

Conservative councillor Alex Myers added the parking situation is "a bit mad" and there are "genuine concerns" over parking and what the development is trying to do. He told the committee: "There are concerns for where parking is going to be for the users of the hotel, and even for staff working there as well. There are just some niggly bits about this, I do like it, I think it's quite a nice scheme."

The council officer explained to the committee that the development is designed to be largely car free, with a total of 142 cycle parking spaces.

He added: "It is next door to the Westgate car park, where there are over 400 surface and multi-storey car parking spaces. In terms of the Essex parking standards, it's identified as being in the most highly accessible or connected part of the borough, compared to any other part because of its proximity to the Basildon railway station and the bus station.

"No objection has been raised by the highways authority and given its town centre location, the level of parking is considered satisfactory for this type of development in the town centre location."