Local MP Priti Patel has called on Maldon District Council to reject a planning application for 159 dwellings after the planning committee considered and deferred the decision to a later meeting. The meeting, which took place on Thursday 5 August 2026, heard objections raised by local residents, Tollesbury Parish Council and Priti about the plans and the adverse impact it would have on the village. The new pressures this would create on highways, road safety and local schools was considered, as well as the cumulative impact of new developments proposed for Tollesbury, were considered. Objectors had also raised serious concerns with the evidence put forward by the applicant and flaws with the assessment made by Essex County Council in relation to their support for the application. Maldon District Council's planning officers had proposed that the planning application be approved as a direct consequence of the Labour Government's planning policies and imposition of new housing targets on Maldon District and there is still a risk that the application will be approved when it is considered again. This planning application follows the granting of consent for 200 dwellings in June 2026 and there is also a further application in the village for 149 dwellings. Priti said:
"Tollesbury has become a victim of this incompetent Labour Government's reckless planning policies. The Secretary of State, Angela Rayner, has doubled their housing target leaving the Council and communities like Tollesbury exposed to unacceptable speculative development. Labour and speculative developers are now bullying local communities into accepting developments that are too large and inappropriate."
"I am working with the local community to fight back against these plans, and this planning application is the latest which will inflict huge harm on Tollesbury. While we all want to see new local homes for local families, this level of development is too large, and Tollesbury does not have the infrastructure, roads or school places to accommodate it. We should be pleased that the planning committee did not approve the application, but the decision to defer means that it could still be granted. That's why I'll keep fighting against it and opposing this awful Labour Government for the harm it is inflicting on our countryside and rural communities."
