LONG-AWAITED plans to build a state-of-the-art community centre have suffered a fresh blow.

The Halstead Community Centre Charitable Company was set up to spearhead the new community centre in Halstead.

Plans to build the centre on a disused site next to Broton Drive have been in the pipeline for five years, with planning permission granted back in 2015.

The charity even went as far as to take out a 999-year lease on the land in 2016.

However, the planning permission has since expired and the project has experienced significant delays after it was revealed the site needed to be decontaminated.

Now proposals to put up temporary hoardings on the former industrial site have been recommended for refusal.

The application put forward to Braintree Council would have seen 8ft-high hoardings put up around the perimeter of the site for up to three years, with an entrance to allow workers and vehicles in and out.

The site has to be screened off for health and safety reasons so decontamination can go ahead.

But the chances of getting the go-ahead have shrunk following the council planning officers’ recommendation.

Halstead Town Council and the Environment Agency raised no objections and there were no objections from the public.

Planning officials cited a lack of certainty as a major factor because there is no current planning permission for the community centre.

There were also concerns about the hoardings’ effect on wildlife – mainly hedgehogs – as well as on the appearance of the area and its impact on the nearby conservation area.

The officers’ report says: “The site is currently an open parcel of land.

“There is no certainty as to when/if the community facility will be built as there is no planning permission in place.

“Officers consider that the erection of the hoarding, even on a temporary basis, would be detrimental to the appearance of the street scene and the setting of the adjacent conservation area.”

The proposal goes before Braintree Council’s planning committee next Tuesday night.

The Halstead Community Centre Charitable Company declined to comment ahead of the ruling.