A business park which would be 3,000 square metres could be built in a village under new plans submitted.

Developers have applied for planning permission to build four blocks which could be used for shops, offices, cafés or restaurants, and 133 car parking spaces in Copford.

A planning application by LPB Homes for the 3,009 square metre proposal was submitted to Colchester Council on January 16.

A section of a design and access statment submitted alongside the propsal said: “Local precedents and history were considered as part of this process.

"The proposal has sought to distribute the mass across the site and create a core to the development, opening up views to the wider landscape surrounding the site, whilst at the same time resulting in a visually less dense arrangement.”

According to the statement, each block will be two storeys tall with a flat roof and an entrance on the ground floor.

It claims the proposal will be a “striking piece of modern architecture”, but will be sensitive to its neighbours and surroundings by incorporating the existing types of buildings in the village into its own design.

Trees will also be planted around the edge of the site and a the main façades will face south to maximise daylight and avoid overshadowing nearby houses.

A later section of the report said: “We also feel there is the potential to add value to the health and well being of the users of the facility.

"Therefore we are also proposing a running track that loops the extent of the site, also re-enforcing the green edge.”

The site, behind AGM House in London Road, currently has planning permission for a series of offices, which was approved by the council in 2019.

According to a decision notice at the time, the applicant for this first proposal was AGM House, a water utility business.

For this latest proposal, AGM House itself will act as a visual buffer in front of the site, the design and access statment claims.