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Planning appeal decision

Allowed6 August 20253358764

301 Rayleigh Road , Benfleet, SS7 3XA

Planning appeal 3358764 at 301 Rayleigh Road , Benfleet, SS7 3XA (Castle Point Borough Council) was allowed on 6 August 2025 by Inspector Carpenter C, by written representations. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: the effect of the proposal on the integrity of protected European sites.

9 dwellings and new estate road

Authority
Castle Point Borough Council
Appeal type
minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Written Representations
Development
residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector
Carpenter C
Postcode
SS7 3XA

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • the effect of the proposal on the integrity of protected European sites
  • whether the appeal site is grey belt land and whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt, having regard to the Framework and any relevant development plan policies
  • the effect of the proposal on biodiversity
  • whether the dwelling type proposed represents an acceptable response to local housing need

What decided it

The Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year supply of deliverable housing sites, combined with the site's qualification as grey belt land where all statutory tests are met, meant that the Framework's policies on housing delivery and grey belt development outweighed the conflict with the local plan policy on dwelling mix.

The benefits of housing delivery to meet demonstrable unmet need, combined with the site's status as grey belt land satisfying all statutory tests and the absence of significant harm to protected sites or biodiversity, outweighed the conflict with Policy H10 on dwelling type mix.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy H10 of the Castle Point Local Plan 1998
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 49Paragraph 58Paragraph 110Paragraph 115Paragraph 143Paragraph 155

How the Inspector dealt with each one is set out in the app, in order: the development plan, national policy, housing land supply, other considerations and the planning balance, beside the letter.

See how each was applied

The decision letter

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More decisions in Castle Point

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2025

  1. Dismissed6 October 20266009589
    1 Mount Zion, Castle Lane, Hadleigh, SS7 2AR
  2. Allowed14 September 20266007184
    Land South Of Daws Heath Road, Thundersley, SS7 2TA
  3. Notice varied and upheld4 September 20263350293
    The Hideaway, 23A Malyon Court Close, Benfleet, Essex, SS7 1TX
  4. Dismissed8 June 20266005397
    Land Rear of 60 Church Road, Benfleet, SS7 4BP
  5. Allowed5 June 20266005421
    127 Moreland Avenue, Thundersley, SS7 4JJ

The main issues, what decided it, the planning balance and the policies and judgments listed as cited are read from the published letter by Town Planner Pro and are our summary, not the Inspector’s words; the letter itself is the record. Contains public sector information licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Research, not advice.

In the app this decision sits on the map beside every appeal around it, with its letter to read and the main issues, policies and judgments cited picked out.