CONTROVERSIAL plans for dozens of new homes in Wickford are back on the table after already being refused.

Developer Gleeson Homes wants to build 68 houses on land south of Downham Road, which is currently a paddock.

The house builder first put forward plans for the new estate last summer, but after complaints from families living nearby, they were eventually refused by Basildon Borough Council.

Now, despite that refusal, Gleeson Homes has submitted an identical application with no changes, but says that it has commissioned new reports to ensure its plans will not damage the area.

In a letter from Laurence Quail, the agent for the application, to Clive Simpson, the head of planning services at the council, he admits: "The revised application comprises the same amount of development and the same layout.

"However, the applicant has undertaken further technical assessments in order to demonstrate the suitability of the proposals and that they will not lead to the adverse impacts the previous refusal was based."

The plans, which contain mainly three and four-bedroom homes, were chiefly rejected because of concerns about the impact it would have on traffic and the effect it would have on drainage.

Downham Road leads onto Brock Hill, which already has pinch points to slow down traffic as it passes through Runwell and into Wickford.

David Harrison, the vice-chairman of the Wickford Action Group, which lobbies against over-development in Wickford, said when the original application was made it was sad to see more green space under threat.

He said: "We keep building more homes but we need school places, doctors and dentists. Since the masterplan fell by the wayside, there doesn't seem to be any provision for these facilities."

Sheila Beagley, who lives in Downham Road, the only access into the proposed new estate, said: "I'm not very keen on the idea. There are lots of issues with building more houses there.

"The road could become really busy – it can already be blocked with parked cars and force people to queue, and that would only get worse.

"After a few days of rain, water pours down this road like a river. If they didn't get the drainage and everything right, that could cause a lot of problems."

Gleeson Homes also claims the drainage system could cope, and that traffic levels are low enough not to be harmed.

The new application is due to be decided upon by Basildon Council by March.