PLANS for a 1,000-home ‘garden village’ in Walton have been revived after developers submitted new proposals, despite planning officers telling them their project would harm the green belt.

Bonnar Allen’s Drake Park development would include 1,024 homes built on the land east of Molesey Road and south of Field Common Lane in Walton.

The proposals remain unchanged from a previous application submitted in March last year. 150 flats will be starter homes and 362 a mix of rental and shared ownership.

The plans also include a park, primary school, doctor’s and dentist’s surgeries, a supermarket, a pub and offices.

An application submitted last year was withdrawn in October after planning officers recommended the proposals be rejected.

Officers previously said the plans were “inappropriate” for the green belt and were not covered by special circumstances that would outweigh harm to the land.

They had added that the proposed location of the homes was too close to the land earmarked for the Weylands Treatment Works, plans for which were withdrawn this month, though the site remains in Surrey County Council’s waste plan.

Inadequate archaeological and biodiversity information was also cited as reasons for refusal.

Nigel Rankine, Bonnar Allen’s development director, said the company resubmitted the plans to coincide with the publication of the Elmbridge Local Plan, detailing the housing needs of the borough.

He said: “It has always been our intention to work collaboratively with Elmbridge as the draft plan is considered and we will continue to take this approach.

“Our application is exactly the same as the one we withdrew late last year offering 1,024 new homes of which half will be affordable.

“This will include 150 new starter homes as part of the national government initiative.

“We remain committed to listening and responding to the local community about the role Drake Park can play creating new homes for the people of Elmbridge.”

Mick Flannigan, of Rydens Road, who previously called the proposals “rotten”, said: “Once again, the letters stacking up against this application speak for themselves.

“Overwhelmingly, local people have rubbished it. The biggest concerns by far are the loss of a big chunk of the green belt, plus the enormous impact of thousands of additional traffic movements on roads that are already beyond capacity.

“I sincerely hope that this new application is heading for another failure.”

An Elmbridge Council spokeswoman said that the strategic housing market assessment report, due to be published in January, has been delayed and a new timetable for “plan preparation” between 2016 and 2018 will be set out soon.

The closing date for comments on the application is August 10.