PLANNING officers have told residents that Tendring Council has no choice over whether 12,000 new homes are built in the district.

The authority is currently trying to find the best sites for the homes to be built over the next 17 years.

It has earmarked sites across the district, including three new estates in Clacton and Weeley, each with more than 1,000 homes.

Richard Matthams, the council’s planning policy team leader, said it was fully understood that communities were not in favour of that level of growth.

“Due to the Government’s policy to boost the supply of housing, the number is no longer up for debate – but where they go is up for debate,” he said.

“There is a real danger that if we don’t have a Local Plan in place that we will be left open to speculative development and any development that is shown to be sustainable will get approved on appeal. We are caught between a rock and a hard place.”

An original local plan for just 6,000 new homes was thrown out by the council after it was told it would be rejected by planning inspectors following objections from Colchester Council and Essex County Council.

Carlo Guglielmi, cabinet member for planning, said a further report will come back to the council’s local plan committee before a public consultation.