HUGE plans to dual the A120 and build a new village, face a major setback after its plans for 4,000 homes on the edge of Braintree were earmarked for rejection.

Temple Border, a 185 hectare site on the eastern edge of Braintree, was put forward for Braintree Council’s call for sites. The consortium also wants to build a new village, called West Tey, near Marks Tey, and has pledged to part-fund the dualling of the A120 between Marks Tey and Braintree if its plans win approval.

However, councillors at the Local Plan Committee will be told at a meet- ing on Monday that the site should not be included in its draft Local Plan.

In a report, officers stated the site had poor links with Braintree.

It stated: “The whole area is clas- sified as Grade II listed agricultural land, and has ancient wood land and local wildlife sites as well as an archaeological site.”

The report was welcomed by Rosie Pearson, secretary of the Campaign Against Urban Sprawl in Essex.

She said: “We are pleased Braintree are taking a strategic view in respect of this specific site and it seems com- mon sense has prevailed.

“Clearly traffic and access is an issue and any housing must be connected to an urban centre, so we would welcome their decision.”

In February, Gateway 120 joined forces with London based housing association and developer L&Q, and Cirrus Land, a planning promotion company.

Robert Vestentoft, of Cirrus, said it was seeking “urgent dialogue” with the council. He said: “The inclusion of Temple Border would be a real op- portunity for Braintree to bring about positive change. The alternative is a scatter-gun of development, none of which would support the need for infrastructure improvements and in particular the dualling of the A120.”