PLANS for 90 new homes on a plot of green belt land are in the balance after councillors deferred a decision.

Two applications are pending for 21 flats at the front of the Jennikings garden centre site, in Manor Road, Chigwell, and 69 homes at the back.

Councillors were due to decide on the future of the 69 home development last night (September 16), but declined to vote on the issue agreeing it should be discussed at the next Development Control Committee meeting, at the same time as the 21 flat proposal.

Barry Fleetwood, of Manor Road, who has been organising protests against the developments said the decision was perverse.

He said: “They passed it to the development control committee and that was that. It was a bit of an anti-climax.

"If there'd been any great argument there'd have probably put it to a vote. Perverse is the only way I can describe their decision, or non-decision. I was expecting there to be a great big fight.”

Redbridge Council filed a late objection to the scheme voicing concern that any new community could impact on its facilities.

Mr Fleetwood said: “There are six criteria for building on Green Belt and Redbridge officers say this site doesn't meet three of them. It's obvious they don't meet the criteria.

“It's crackers. They've been seduced by the thought of all those three and four-bedroom affordable homes. Grange Hill is green belt not a dumping ground for affordable homes.”

Chigwell Village district councillor John Knapman said the scheme had both pros and cons, but the need for the potential affordable homes was great.

He said: “We need 4,700 affordable homes in the district. There's an awful lot of young people in Chigwell who can't afford a home. We have got two sites that are close to a tube station where we can provide affordable homes. It matches what the Government is looking for.

“If it goes through I'd be looking for an agreement that offers three years' finance to reopen the post office.”

Both proposals are now due to come before the council on October 6.