AN under-construction sheltered housing complex is still without an electricity supply after the council turned down a THIRD request for a substation to be built on the site.

Housing company McCarthy and Stone have been trying for seven months to get planning permission for the unit to be built on its development in Epping High Street, but have met with fierce opposition from neighbours living nearby.

Residents have repeatedly argued that the location of the substation - which would be next to several back gardens - would be a noise nuisance and safety risk.

This latest application by McCarthy and Stone, following two previous rejections by Epping Forest District Council, had been recommended for approval by officers after the company agreed to reduce the maximum height of the unit down from 3.6 metres to 2.97 metres, but councillors still decided to turn it down.

Councillors ruled that the substation would have an “overbearing visual impact, [which would be] harmful to the residential amenity of the occupants of 7 Beech Place” due to its location, height and bulk.

Beech Place resident Hugh Farish said: “We're obviously pleased but we feel that they just won't stop applying like this, no matter how many times it gets turned down.

“They don't seem to get the message. They could solve the problem by applying for permission to have it in another part of the site, but they don't seem to want that.

“It will be interesting to see what they do next.”

McCarthy and Stone did not include proposals for an electricity substation when they submitted their original planning application for the development, which will comprise of 28 flats when it is completed.