WITH so many housing demands it seems to make perfect sense to build on brownfield sites in Thurrock.

It’s these areas that must be unlocked – and the hallowed green belt preserved.

At the latest council get-together councillors unanimously agreed to back plans for no less than 1,000 new homes to be built in the borough.

This by the way may only be the start.

And it was made clear the homes would, first and foremost, be earmarked for council-owned brownfield sites.

The next step needs to be transparency - where exactly will these homes be built and within what timescales.

And there’s the thorny issue of affordable homes. It was agreed more than a third of the aforementioned 1,000 homes will be deemed affordable. That seems fair yet there was a bit of concern.

And again, transparency will be key here in terms of what prices are deemed affordable and in what areas will these affordable homes be built.

It was also good to see on what was a potentially contentious issue party squabbles were put to one side and cross party support gained.

After all, I think few people would disagree that it’s essential homes are created in borough in order to give younger people a chance to get their own home while, of course, protecting the green belt that’s left at all costs.