RESURRECTED plans to build nine homes in an overcrowded area could “make an already very poor situation worse”, residents have claimed.

Colbert Developments wants to build nine homes on land off Albert Street, close to Colchester city centre.

The company has been eyeing up the site since it first applied for planning permission in 2021. The application was later withdrawn, before being resubmitted last year.

Colchester Council threw the plans out, stating a lack of parking would create unsafe conditions for pedestrians and motorists, but the applicant hopes it will be third time lucky after submitting a fresh bid to build a mix of three-bed houses and one- and two-bed apartments.

Gazette: Overcrowded - cars often park down both sides of Albert StreetOvercrowded - cars often park down both sides of Albert Street (Image: Google)

Several residents have written to planning bosses to voice their concerns on several issues including parking and traffic on Albert Street, where the road is often lined with cars on both sides.

Concerned resident Tom Roderick-Holland told the Gazette he does “multiple laps of the surrounding roads” to park his car, often leaving it far away from his front door.

“This is difficult with shopping and a dog, so I can only imagine what it is like with young children,” he said.

With planning permission already granted to convert the nearby Riverside Office Centre, where work has seemingly ground to a halt, into 93 flats, Tom fears the traffic issues will worsen.

Gazette: Site - land off Albert StreetSite - land off Albert Street (Image: Newsquest)

He added: “We are not against the regeneration of this area however we ask that the new proposals are considerate of the area and its existing residents.”

A resident of nearby Mercers Way questioned: “This application is just as onerous as before so why are we getting repeat applications to already well objected to plans which have been turned down?”

North Essex Parking Partnership, which manages an existing resident parking permit scheme, has written to planning bosses to say it wouldn’t include the proposed new homes in its current scheme.

If recommended for approval by officers, the proposals will be debated by Colchester Council’s planning committee after being flagged by city centre councillor Mark Goacher, who said there are “insufficient changes from the last rejected application which was virtually identical”.