Thousands of extra homes could be built in Southend, Castle Point and Basildon if the House Builders' Federation has its way.

The group claims the number of new homes planned for south Essex is too conservative - and believes thousands more should be built.

That would involve developing the green belt - and possibly even building on school playing fields.

The House Builders' Federation wants to see:

8,300 new homes built in Basildon, Billericay and Wickford - 1,000 more than included in the new county structure plan

2,700 new homes in Castle Point - 400 more than planned

3,300 new homes in the Rochford council area - 300 more than previously planned

1,800 new homes in the Southend council area - 150 more than planned

The higher estimated figures have angered council bosses who say towns are already under pressure to build new homes already identified in the Essex and Southend Revised Structure Plan.

But speaking at the public inquiry into the structure plan, HBF representative Peter Court told the panel that county council estimates for the number of new homes to be built across Essex between 1996 and 2011 is 16,100 below what is needed.

He said: "The favoured figure for the provision in the county was 94,500."

Sunethra Mendis, representing Southend Council, told the panel that the area was already in a difficult position, being the most heavily populated area in Essex.

She said Southend has more than 13 per cent of the county's population, living on just over one per cent of the land.

Shaun Scrutton, for Rochford Council, said it would be difficult to add housing to existing areas as it could destroy the balance of the market town, making extra schools, shops and doctor's surgeries necessary.

This, he said, could easily detract from existing town centres.

He added: "If the proposals put forward by HBF were accepted, there would be no alternative but to allocate land from the green belt area."

Basildon Council representative Ian Syers also voiced fears over the new figures, telling the panel there was little room left in the new town.

David Edmunds from Campaign for the Protection of Rural Essex said he "felt sorry" for Basildon.

"I have no idea if the HBF has done a study to find out if Basildon can cope with the extra capacity - I doubt it very much."

Castle Point's Kim Fisher said building 400 more homes than was already mooted in the structure plan would lead to traffic chaos in the district.

Chris Offord, the chairman of the panel, said he and his colleagues would be making a trip to the Rochford area to see the situation for themselves before making any decisions.

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