BASILDON Labour MP Angela Smith today called on the district's council to "urgently rethink" plans to build thousands of new homes in the new town.

Mrs Smith spoke out after reading the council's Replacement Local Plan which contains proposals to build nearly 3,800 homes in Basildon - but none in Billericay.

Mrs Smith said she "fully accepted the need for additional housing" in the district but called on the Tory-led council to immediately reconsider and add more balance to the proposals.

In a written submission to the council, Mrs Smith wrote: "My main concern on the Plan as a whole is that the housing allocations are not balanced across the district as a whole."