RESIDENTS and councillors are mounting a campaign to stop the building of more properties on a site already set for 400 new homes.

Developer Taylor Wimpey has submitted an application to Brentwood Council to build 71 flats at the corner of St James Road and Station Approach, adjacent to Brunel House, on the former NV Tools site in the town centre.

Under the plans, a seven-storey building could be built on what is currently a patch of green land.

There will be 32 one-bedroom and 39 two-bedroom flats, and 40 parking spaces. Twenty-five of the flats will be affordable housing.

This comes after last month’s council decision to approve plans by developer Crest Nicholson for 53 homes on the nearby former former gasworks site, in Wharf Road and St James Road.

This is in addition to the 200 homes which the developer already has permission to build as part of the Base development.

Plans for the first phase of this building were passed by the council in March 2006.

Liberal Democrat councillor Karen Chilvers has started a petition opposing the latest plans, which she said will cause parking chaos.

She also said the area lacks the infrastructure to support so many families and is pushing for more play areas to be built.

Residents agree, and say there is no way the area can sustain that many residents. One Rollason Way resident, Katy Roberts, said: “I strongly oppose this plan. This area cannot cope with this amount of new flats.

“St James Road, Rollason Way and the surrounding area, already suffer with severe parking problems and congestion.

“Most households have two cars and building these flats could potentially see more than 100 residents’ cars needing to find a space.”

Another resident, Wayne Griffiths, said: “The parking at Rollason Way is impossible at the moment.

“That’s before 52 new residents move in to Wilkinson House and the new 53 development is built. Another 70 homes would be ridiculous.”

He added: “A seven-storey block would not fit with the aesthetics of the current development.”

Writing on his online blog, Paul Downie, who lives in Rollason Way, said: “It seems the Great Rollason Way parking saga has some more complications being added.

“A lot of my fellow residents are wondering how much more of a burden this is going to be on the local parking.”

Cllr Chilvers has vowed to speak out against the plans, which compromises her position on the planning committee.

She said: “For the first time since I was elected and have been on planning, I have decided to speak out against this development and campaign against it – enough really is enough now.”

Joan Holmes, chairman of planning at Brentwood Council, warned against scaremongering, saying there was no guarantee the development would get approval.

She said: “The application has only just gone in. It will take two or three months for officers to compile a report.

“This gives people time to write in and express how they feel and I would urge them to do that. There is an issue with parking, so people need to raise that and I’ll be there to do whatever the residents want me to do.”