TIME is running out for Tendring residents to have their say on the local plan.

As Weeley residents and its councillors attack proposals that that village takes thousands of homes, council leader Neil Stock defended why the village is set to become home to so many.

Little Clacton and Weeley district councillor Jeff Bray said current proposals of an extra 1,400 to 2,000 homes will increase the village by 300-400 per cent.

“Almost one-in-six of all the new homes will be built in Weeley if this plan goes ahead. It will leave a small community devastated and swamped by non-stop construction and expansion. This once small and beautiful village could become more akin to Tottenham Central,” he said.

The UKIP councillor said Weeley does not have the infrastructure to support all the extra homes and villagers know their quality of life will be affected.

“It is vital that everybody who objects to these plans makes their voice heard,” he said.

Mr Bray also accused Tendring Council of its own ‘Project Fear’ in saying “the government will take over if we don’t hurry up.”

Fellow UKIP councillor Richard Everett who leads UKIP on the planning committee has accused the ruling Conservatives on Tendring Council of “an attempt to dump unwanted and unneeded housing predominantly on Weeley and Clacton.”

“The administration is desperate to con the people of Tendring into thinking that a flawed and unfair Local Plan is better than no plan at all,” he said.

However, Mr Stock responded Weeley is taking so many houses as it is close to existing built-up areas and it is in a ‘sustainable location’ with good rail links.

“Weeley ticks a lot of boxes,” he said.

Tendring Council will listen to what the public says in the consultation but “there’s going to be development across the district.”

He also urged Weeley residents to submit their comments on the parts of the plan they do like, in addition to the parts they don’t.

“It’s important that when we go to the public inquiry and we go before public inspectors we have a robust plan that Tendring came up with,” Mr Stock explained.

The council leader said his own patch in Ardleigh and Little Bromley will take even more homes than Weeley- “thousands” as part of a ‘garden settlement’ on the edge of Colchester.

“Realistically, there has to be some housing. It’s a matter of striking the balance,” he said.

Tendring Council was following a timetable in developing the plan, which has had a long gestation.

“There’s no rush. We want a robust local plan in place,” he said.

Mr Stock added the government has made it clear that it wants 1 million homes built by 2020.

“We have to do our bit in Tendring, just as the rest of the country has to,” he added.

Residents must submit their views on the ‘preferred options’ by September 8.