Land North of Studland Avenue, Wickford, Essex, SS12 0JP

Authority: Basildon District Council
Appeal type: enforcement · Enforcement Notice
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: other · Other minor developments
Inspector: Bartlett R

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

Whether the development is inappropriate in the Green Belt, considering its effect on openness, the purposes of including land in the Green Belt, whether the development is on grey belt land, and the need for the development
The effect of the development on the character and appearance of the area
The effects on protected and priority species, habitats and biodiversity net gain (BNG)
If the development is inappropriate in the Green Belt, whether the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and any other harm, is clearly outweighed by other considerations, so as to amount to the very special circumstances required to justify the development

What decided it

The development is inappropriate development in the Green Belt causing substantial harm to openness and significant harm to character and appearance, with no very special circumstances to justify it.

The substantial harm to the Green Belt by reason of inappropriateness and the significant harm to character and appearance and biodiversity are not clearly outweighed by the other considerations advanced, so very special circumstances do not exist.

Framework references: 154, 155, 135, 187

Plan policies cited: Policy BAS GB1, Policy BAS BE12

Judgments cited: Breckland DC v SSHCLG & Plum Tree Country Park Limited [2020] EWHC 292 (Admin)

Read the decision letter on the Inspectorate’s site

The main issues and the deciding factor are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

What an account adds

Draw a red line around your site and the appraisal follows.

Heritage. Listed buildings by grade and distance, conservation areas, scheduled monuments, registered parks and gardens, heritage at risk.
Landscape and environment. Green belt, national parks and national landscapes, SSSIs, ancient woodland, SPA, SAC and Ramsar sites, nutrient catchments.
Flooding. Flood zones 2 and 3, surface water, and both again with climate change.
Transport. The 800 metre station catchment and service frequency, bus stops with their weekday frequency, the cycle network, and the Framework’s transport tests measured for the site.

Then the development plan position, the housing land supply as an Inspector last accepted it, and every appeal decided around the site with its letter.

Every English appeal since 2016, with the letter behind it wherever the Inspectorate published one. Searched by meaning as well as by words, with the key case law counted live across the letters.

Casework that chases the deadlines. Applications, appeals and conditions with their statutory dates.

The judgement stays yours. The tool gathers the material and dates it.