Plans to demolish Marrable House and replace it with 60 extra care flats for the elderly hit a setback when Chelmsford councillors rejected their own planning officer's recommendations for the scheme to go ahead.
At the meeting, the public gallery was packed with Great Baddow residents who despite wishing to see the derelict building demolished are unhappy with the scale of the proposed redevelopment.
A final decision has been deferred to the council's next meeting.