An application has been submitted to Thurrock Council to build 31 homes for ex-servicemen and women on a plot of land that has been rejected for planning permission three times in the past three years.

The L-shaped area of land on Church Lane in Bulphan, which runs adjacent to Martin's Farmhouse, has been the target of four different planning applications since December 2014, but none of those made it past Thurrock Council's Planning Committee.

The first application to be rejected was one to build five homes on this plot of land back on December 12 2014.

The second and third were applications to build 52 assisted living apartments along with leisure facilities, such as a sports pitch and restaurants.

Both applications were rejected on September 27 2015 and December 16 2016.

A fourth application to build 50 bed care homes was submitted in 2015 but it was withdrawn on July 15 of that year.

But a bold developer has decided to try his luck and convince the council to let him build 31 homes on this plot of land - even though the application has been recommended for rejection.

Mr D McDonald has applied to build 31 homes, consisting of two, three and four bedroom homes, which will be specifically for ex-servicemen and women.

But the application  has been recommended for refusal, meaning it will be unlikely to pass in the Planning Commitee meeting.

This is for various reasons, such as a lack of drainage strategy, difficult access and parking provisions and the fact that it lies in the Green Belt.

The motion is to be debated at the Planning Committee meeting tonight.