Hundreds of homes could be built near Stansted Airport and by a flood zone in Essex.

Pre-application documents have been submitted to Uttlesford District Council for 350 homes in Stansted Mountfitchet, near the Ugley Brook, by Pegasus Group on behalf of developers Bloor Homes.

According to a request for screening opinion, a request developers can make to local councils to see if their schemes need an environmental assessment, parts of the Cambridge Road site are in flood zone two and three, the medium and high risk categories.

However, buildings would not be constructed in these areas and most of the site is in flood zone one, the low risk category.

A section read: "The site predominantly lies within flood zone one, with portions of the land along the western boundary falling within flood zones two and three as a result of the Ugley Brook which runs along this edge.

"Development proposals would not include built form in these areas, and it is considered they would not present a constraint to development."

The plans are also set to include open space, a children’s play area, land reserved for a community use and access for cars and other vehicles, in addition to the homes.

The site itself is currently 23 hectares of agricultural land north of Walpole Meadows, an existing residential development. Ugley Brook runs along Cambridge Road.

The exact housing mix in this latest development has not yet been confirmed, however it will include different sizes, types and tenure, including affordable homes.

Gavin Vicary, of the North West Essex Swift Group, submitted a response to the pre-application request, asking that Swift bricks, boxes designed to built into the houses themselves, be included in the plans to help protect biodiversity.

He said: "Swift and bat bricks are a really valuable conservation tool that should be used in new housing to help reverse the decline of this spectacular bird and bats.

"They last the lifetime of the building and are inconspicuous, simple and inexpensive to install and do not require ongoing maintenance.

"Swifts are clean birds that take any mess away from the nest and their presence is likely to go largely unnoticed by residents."