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Dismissed2 July 20263365696

Land North and East of Junction 17 of the A12, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 7TN

Planning appeal 3365696 at Land North and East of Junction 17 of the A12, Chelmsford, Essex, CM2 7TN (Chelmsford Borough Council) was dismissed on 2 July 2026 by Inspector Nunn M, following an inquiry. The main issue, as the Inspector framed it: planning policy and the spatial strategy.

commercial development of up to 120,000 sqm of logistics/warehousing development (Use Class B8 with ancillary offices) along with servicing and infrastructure including new site accesses, internal roads and footpaths, landscaping including earthworks to create development platforms and bunds, drainage features and other associated works (all matters of detail reserved)

Authority
Chelmsford Borough Council
Appeal type
major · Planning Appeal
Procedure
Inquiry
Development
employment-industrial · Major general industry/storage/warehousing
Inspector
Nunn M

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

  • planning policy and the spatial strategy
  • the effect on the character and appearance of the area, including the landscape, and protected trees
  • the effect on designated and non-designated heritage assets
  • the effect on highway capacity and safety; and the availability of sustainable transport options
  • the need for the development
  • the overall planning balance

What decided it

Unresolved highway safety and capacity concerns, particularly regarding the proposed change to the Junction 17 southbound exit slip road, weighed very substantially against the scheme and could not be safely resolved at outline stage.

The significant economic, environmental and sustainable transport benefits of the scheme did not clearly outweigh the substantial harms to landscape and protected trees, less-than-substantial heritage harm, and unresolved highway safety/capacity concerns, such that the adverse impacts significantly and demonstrably outweighed the benefits under the tilted balance, and the proposal also conflicted with the development plan as a whole.

What the Inspector cited

Development plan policies
Policy S1Policy S4Policy S6Policy S7Policy S8Policy S11Policy DM8Policy DM17
National Planning Policy Framework
Paragraph 11Paragraph 58Paragraph 85Paragraph 86Paragraph 87Paragraph 116Paragraph 187Paragraph 212Paragraph 215Paragraph 216

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.

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The decision letter

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More decisions in Chelmsford City Council

The authority’s record since 2016 · every decision in 2026

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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.