A parish council has agreed to support its neighbours in objecting to a multi-million pound retail and country park - but only just.

Little Clacton Parish Council wrote to Thorpe Parish Council asking for support in protesting against the Brook Park plan for a country and retail park.

At Monday night's Thorpe Parish Council meeting councillors were split.

Some said the scheme should not be rejected out of hand whilst others felt the scheme would make Great Clacton part of Clacton and destroy green belt land.

The council agreed to support Little Clacton in objecting by six votes to three.

Pat Holt said: "This could well provide some badly needed facilities in that area."

And she suggested the developers should provide a link road from the A120 to the A133 if it wanted the project to go ahead.

David Booth added: "If there's not some development, villages will die or youngsters will be forced to go elsewhere."

But Alan Newman responded: "That's no excuse to turn up greenfield sites."

Chairman Brian Healey said: "I would prefer not to see the development go ahead as it is infilling and the whole of the Clacton and Walton area will include us if we are not careful. It's this gradual creeping development that I am totally against."

There have been several bids for superstores in the Little Clacton area since the building of the village's bypass several years ago. The only one to go ahead was a Safeway project.

Last month the scheme was dealt a major blow as the High Court upheld Tendring Council's view that the land involved should be kept as a green wedge.

Constructors face hefty bill

Britton Construction will face a substantial bill over its unsuccessful High Court challenge to Tendring's adopted local plan.

The firm, which wants to develop its Brook Park scheme, wanted the council's designation of the site as green belt land overturned.

But Britton Construction's two objections to the local plan - a blueprint of how the district will be developed - were thrown out by a Deputy High Court judge.

He also refused the firm leave to appeal. Tendring councillors heard last night the company will be presented with a large bill as costs were awarded against the firm.

Richard Colley, head of planning and building services, told councillors at a meeting of the environment and development board that Britton Construction still had two applications on the go.

He said there would be a public inquiry in September about the council's non-determination of an application for a mixed development of the site.

Also another application had come in from the firm and there would be future reports on both these to the councillors in the near future.

Last week Britton Construction received a boost when deputy prime minister John Prescott decided it did not need to carry out a formal environmental impact assessment as it would not have a significant effect on the environment.

BRITTON Construction aims to develop a 60-acre Brook Park country park and retail area off the site in London Road, Clacton. The project would also include new leisure facilities and a park and ride scheme.

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