MORE than 100 homes and space for businesses could be built behind a popular leisure park.

Plans for the 151 residential apartments and five commercial units behind Basildon's Festival Leisure Park have been revealed.

The plans include one and two-bedroom flats with buildings up to five and six storeys high. A total of 197 car parking spaces are proposed, including 25 per cent for visitor use. Early proposals comprised approximately 330 apartments and dwelling houses, together with six commercial units, but this was scaled back.

Andy Barns, leader of the Basildon Conservatives, said he has mixed views on the proposals. He added: "It makes sense to develop in areas like this, especially when they will be close to the Festival Leisure Park amenities. I would have some concerns around access to public transport, which will need to be considered."

It comes as the new Costa drive-thru at the park is due to open in a few weeks, and the Wendy's restaurant opened in November. The well-known leisure park also offers Cineworld cinema and Hollywood Bowl, and has undergone a transformation from a once-known night hotspot with various nightclubs in the Nineties and Noughties.

Basildon and the surrounding towns could see almost 27,000 extra homes, as the council draws up proposals for development over the next 20 years. Basildon Borough Council is drawing up its local plan, which includes 26,909 homes, and space for services, employment, and schools until 2043.

The plans for the homes near the leisure park state: "In conclusion, the proposal represents an appropriate and sustainable form of development for the site.

"If approved, it will deliver meaningful social, environmental, and economic benefits and make a positive contribution to the Festival Leisure Complex and the wider Basildon area."