Controversial land in the heart of Halstead looks set to be turned into houses.

An undisclosed buyer was said to be interested in purchasing land east of the High Street in May.

Now, the selling off of the four acre site looks imminent, and it has been revealed it is being proposed for a housing development.

The site was put forward as part of Braintree Council’s Call for Sites last year.

Exact numbers of houses proposed has not been included in the application form, but the development is expected to be completed within five years.

Modern developers have up to 45 homes per hectare, meaning that about 60 houses could be built on the land.

There is no provision for open space or any other uses of the land along with the houses.