Parish councils in the Braintree district are calling for greater protection of the countryside, better public transport and more affordable housing.

Their comments come as part of a new Braintree Council scheme which aims to give parish councils a bigger role in forming council policy through regular meetings with groups of parishes.

At a recent round of meetings parish representatives raised residents' concerns, which had traffic at the top.

In the Notleys and Cressing, councillors said wedges of green land should be protected with no more luxury homes being built.

Coggeshall representatives said development around Braintree should be contained within the bypass, protecting countryside around Stisted and Bradwell.

Concern about a lack of facilities for young people was raised, with Silver End councillors citing the related problem of under-age drinking.

Policing and increasing aircraft noise were also seen as a concern.

Roger Barrett, director of environment and planning at Braintree Council, said the comments would be used in preparing the district's local plan review and other policy.

"The initial response of parish and town councils will be extremely useful in identifying priorities for our first community plan," he said.

"A number of actions are required to establish the clusters as an important element in our consultation strategy."

Further surveys will be carried out and a fieldworker is being appointed to assess the findings.

The councils policy committee was due to consider the results of the meetings on Thursday night.

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