The explosion of new home building around Braintree must slow down.

That is the view of council planners and the leading environmental councillor spokesman, David Mann.

He has given his backing to the council's demand that future housing development for the district be strictly limited.

District council planning officers took their fears to the public examination of the Essex Review Structure Plan.

Supporting the officers' plea, Mr Mann, who is a district councillor for Bocking, said: "Before we support any more development we have got to look for extra employment and infrastructure improvements.

"We must generate economic development in the Braintree district, we can't just provide homes for people who then have to travel large distances to work."

He called for job opportunities, services, road and rail links to match future housing.

His call was echoed by Witham councillor, Phil Barlow.

Speaking at the examination this week, Mr Barlow argued that Witham had already had its ''revolution'' of housing development in previous decades and asked that the town be allowed a respite period.

He pledged to fight developers' plans to build over 4,000 houses on open countryside over the next 10 years.

Braintree council's planning executive, Paul Munson, told the examination the district has taken so much development this decade that more large scale construction will be "unsustainable".

The district had the highest number of non-local people moving in Essex and huge outward travel to work with Hatfield Peverel having 64 per cent commuters, Kelvedon 48 per cent and Witham 48 per cent.

Homes had been built at an average of 500 a year since 1991, reaching a peak of 1,200 homes in 1996-7, with 850 completions last year.

In 1991 an average 40 per cent of district residents travelled from the three main towns of Braintree, Witham and Halstead to work elsewhere and he believed this figure had gone up.

Referring to the Great Notley development he noted that although half the homes - about 1,000 units - had been completed, not a brick of the linked business park had been laid.

He also said the density of 11 homes per acre was far too low to fit latest thinking about affordable homes for single people and one parent families.

And he highlighted the meagre public transport connections.

But he admitted to the chairman of the inquiry, Mr Charles Offord, that there was little chance of any changes being made to future parts of the scheme which were in a masterplan and had all received outline planning consent.

He added that large numbers of the residents of the development had migrated in - 27 per cent from Chelmsford, 11 per cent from London, 11 per cent from Romford, six per cent from Brentwood and just nine per cent from Braintree district. Great Notley has only "loose links" with Braintree he added.

Now there was the daily phenomenon of traffic queuing to travel away from the locality.

Panners Farm Hamlet - more homes being developed at Great Notley.

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