'Ideal site' sought for veterans village in Essex

Council staff have been asked to find the "ideal site" to create a new gated community for military veterans in Essex.

The so-called "veterans' village" was proposed by Peter Harris, the Reform UK leader of Essex County Council, who said it would have on-site rehabilitation services.

Veteran support worker Sharon Robinson said it needed to have the proper facilities, "not just ticking boxes".

More than 50,000 veterans live in the county, as do over 4,000 enlisted servicemen and women.

"Where it will actually be, I can't say yet. What I have tasked our officers with is actually [to] find the ideal site," Harris told the BBC.

He said it would be a gated village run by the veterans themselves and it would also house ex-service personnel who were homeless. It would also offer support to veterans in their transitions back to civilian life.

Hundreds of veterans and their families live in a similar, charity-run development in Aylesford, Kent.

It offers emergency homes, a gym and on-site job training, and is the UK's largest housing community for veterans.

Terry Longstaff, the council's armed forces champion, said building a similar plot in Essex was a "standout commitment".

"I look forward to working closely with colleagues and the armed forces community over the coming days to see how we can make this idea a reality," he added.

Robinson, welfare case manager at North Essex and Suffolk Veterans Support Group, said: "I'd like to see there is proper transition and proper information for people, not just ticking boxes.

"The whole infrastructure needs to be right in order for it to work."

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