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Designer Pollard Thomas and Edwards Architects Developer Guinness Trust Contractor Galliford Hodgson Ltd Planning Authority Tendring District Council

For forty years planning, health and fire authorities have agonised over the future of the Brooklands Estate at Jaywick Sands. Planned – in the barest possible sense – as a seaside ‘plotland’ development, where London’s Eastenders could build their own holiday homes, from the 1930s onwards it became a popular destination in the summer. At one stage, it even boasted a Butlins. It may have had dirt roads, it may have lacked all but the most rudimentary services, but here people could find self-expression, unencumbered by planning restraints.

But as the years wore on, and owners aged with them, the estate took on a less sunny aspect. The rule that none of the timber chalets could be occupied throughout the year fell quietly into disuse, and private sector landlords bought up properties to rent them out for permanent occupation. There was talk of drugs, or worse: Brooklands acquired the nickname of Dodge City. And then, into town rode the Guinness Trust with an ambitious scheme to start regeneration by rehousing families in the worst conditions, building on the site of the long abandoned Butlins.

In the first stage, Lotus Way, 40 two and three-bedroom houses and bungalows face south to the sea, some with living areas on the upper floor. The prefabricated timber-clad construction echoes that of the original chalets, but these are attractive, well planned modern dwellings, highly insulated to minimise energy costs. There is a small square, excellent landscaping, and an orchard. And the tenants clearly take an immense pride in the upkeep of their houses and gardens: fears of graffiti, vandalism and arson have proved completely misplaced.

The next stages will be crucial. How to complete the second half of the site. How to tackle the eventual redevelopment of the worst existing chalets within the constraints of the original tight grid. But there are encouraging signs: increased confidence in property values might make self-build – or shared ownership – a viable proposition once again. The spirit that proudly named the original roads after a myriad vanished independent British car makes lives on in Lotus Way: a high performance successor to the Brooklands tradition.