A BID by world-famous jam giant Wilkin and Sons to build 27 new homes in a village have suffered a setback.

Outline proposals for homes between Brook Close and Strawberry Lane in Tolleshunt Knights were submitted to Maldon Council by Wilkin and Sons in April.

Last year the company announced plans to invest £15 million in its Tiptree factory over the next 15 years.

The homes, if given permission, will be built on the edge Tolleshunt Knights and Wilkin and Sons said it “provides an opportunity to round off and complete the village envelope”.

Its planning statement said: “The application site is, therefore, ideally positioned to provide additional homes to support jobs growth and housing choice in the immediate locality.”

It added the plans would deliver growth in a “sustainable manner and will not materially impact upon the landscape and rural setting.”

The proposals also included plans for 11 affordable homes to be created.

However, residents and councils disagreed with the firm’s assessment.

Tolleshunt Knights Parish Council objected to the proposals and more than 50 residents also wrote letters opposing the scheme.

The parish council was concerned over what is considered to be an “inadequate access via Brook Close”.

It also objected to the increase in traffic in the area, limited facilities and the pressure it would put on the village’s infrastructure.

Residents raised concerns about flooding near the site, the impact on ecology and wildlife and lack of pavement for pedestrians.

Now planning officers have also raised concerns and have recommended Maldon Council’s north western area committee rejects the plans.

A report, which will go before the meeting next week, said: “It is considered the impact of the development on the character and appearance of the application site and the locality, and with particular regard to its location and scale and its poor connectivity to its immediate surroundings, would be an unsustainable form of development.

“The development would fail to meet the three strands of sustainable development as contained in the National Planning Policy Framework.”

The meeting will take place at the Maldon Council offices in Princes Road, Maldon, from 7.30pm on Monday.

To view the plans, go to www.maldon.gov.uk.