A new mini-town at either Boreham or Battlesbridge is on the cards.

Councillors are grappling with the problem of where to accommodate the thousands more homes being forced on Chelmsford over the next decade.

But, after a packed meeting of the borough's development policy board on Wednesday, they were no nearer deciding which village should bear the huge expansion involved.

The borough council moved its meeting to Christchurch, New London Road, to accommodate more than 200 people who took the opportunity to make their views felt.

Councillors did agree to find room for more than 2,000 homes in the present built-up areas of Chelmsford and South Woodham Ferrers, and for between 1,200 and 1,600 on land north of South Woodham Ferrers.

But these decisions, and the choice between Boreham and Battlesbridge, must be referred to a meeting of the full council in February.

It is being suggested that Boreham could have between 1,400 and 1,875 homes in a new settlement north of the railway line, with a new railway station to the west of Waltham Road, and a new secondary school.

Battlesbridge, in the Green Belt, is proposed for between 2,600 and 3,500 homes, on land north and south of the railway station, with a realignment of the station to the east.

A proposal by Councillor Graham Pooley that Boreham be selected was defeated after a lengthy debate.

The proposals will go out to public consultation and be the subject of a public inquiry in January, 2002.

Converted for the new archive on 19 November 2001. Some images and formatting may have been lost in the conversion.