PLANS to build two hides at a wetland project have been submitted.

Wallasea Island, off the Dengie coast, is a landmark conservation scheme to create wetland habitats.

The conservation work, which has seen 670 hectares of farmland turned back into coastal marshland, is a partnership between the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) and Crossrail.

Now the RSPB has submitted a planning application to Essex County Council to install two bird viewing hides on the site.

It includes proposals for a reception hide as visitors arrive and a second octagonal hide providing 360 degree views of the new habitats.

The planning statement said: “The two proposed viewing hides would be implemented to improve the attractiveness of the project site as a destination for visitors as well as to enhance the length of time that visitors are able to stay.

“One of these buildings will be a Reception Hide that will be a welcoming destination for visitors as they arrive.

“Another building will be an octagonal viewing hide that will provide 360o views of the new habitats and will be a destination for visitors as they walk around the completed nature reserve.”

Millions of tonnes of earth from Crossrail’s tunnels and stations have been used to create the nature reserve, which is twice the size of the City of London.

It is hoped the reserve will boost tourism in nearby Burnham.

Essex County Council will have the final say on the plans.