A THIRD bid to build houses on the site of a former school in Westcliff has failed after councillors rejected the latest proposal.

Southend’s development committee yesterday refused planning permission for a three-storey block of 18 flats on the Crowstone Preparatory School, in Crowstone Road, Westcliff.

Tory committee member Stephen Habermel said: “I agree wholeheartedly with the council’s recommendation to reject this and the reasons in terms of dominance, mass and scale. Also there are questions about affordable homes so I’ll definitely be voting against this.

Lib Dem member Carole Mulroney added: “This is a very bulky development and would be totally out of character. We refused this on four grounds last time and although the development has improved the mix of houses, we are really refusing this on the same grounds as before.”

The application also attracted 26 objections from neighbours, with almost all being linked to this issue of overdevelopment.

Some feared losing their privacy due to the flats overlooking their homes, while others said it was simply too many flats for the site.

It is the third time that the developers have failed to secure planning permission to build homes on the site.

The first proposal was to build 20 apartments and six homes but was withdrawn over concerns from the council that it would be too close to the road.

A second application for 20 flats but without the six homes from the original application was rejected due to councillor concerns that the building was too big and provided only two-bed flats.

It is not known if the developers will appeal.