A decision on a 73-home development proposed for Ashingdon has been put back again by councillors, despite a pending appeal.

Rochford District Council's planning committee must either approve the application when it is discussed again on February 2, or risk costs of tens of thousands of pounds.

Committee members were told by their officers that developers Wilcon Homes had met all concerns raised when the application was last heard on October 28.

But councillors at the meeting, which was attended by many residents, went against their officers' recommendation and refused to approve the development. And they highlighted a new list of concerns requiring more information.

Lib Dem councillor for Ashingdon ward, Jackie Hall, claimed information was still being held back.

She said: "This issue needs to be more transparent, with issues up front.

"Developers seem to want to wipe out any trace of what we call a village. I view this with horror."

Fellow ward member, Conservative Terry Cutmore, said: "We are concerned at the scale of the plan within a small area, certainly within Ashingdon."

Members agreed by a 17 to 13 vote to defer the application for further information on protected wildlife, surface water drainage, an emergency access route, three-storey buildings, road junction details, and a turning circle at the back of number 40.

But they were advised by officers that new site studies had shown protected species thought to be on the site were in fact not there - and all other issues were separate to those previously raised, and should have been brought up by members before the meeting.

The date of deferment also falls 18 days after the authority has to submit a case against an appeal lodged by Wilcon with the Planning Inspectorate.

The appeal was brought after the council took more than the stipulated eight weeks to decide the application, lodged in April last year.

The council's head of planning, Steve Heading, said: "If members go totally contrary to officers' views, it puts officers in a very difficult position to try and do an adequate job. The firm recommendation of officers is that all issues raised in earlier meetings have been addressed satisfactorily."

Rochford District Council has already paid out costs, running into tens of thousands of pounds, after a different planning application it refused in similar circumstances in October 1998 was granted on appeal.

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