Land Adjacent to 5 Magnum Close, Rainham, RM13 3PU

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

• the effect of the proposal on highway safety
• whether the proposal would provide adequate servicing arrangements for the proposed dwellings
• the effect of the proposal on the living conditions of the occupiers of the proposed development with regard to crime and safety
• whether the proposal would prejudice future development of the neighbouring garage block site

What decided it

The lack of a secured, unobstructed access width at the point where vehicles must pass through the garage block site, combined with the inability to prevent third-party parking obstruction and the absence of any binding mechanism to control this, created a realistic and continuing prospect that safe and suitable access could not be maintained for the lifetime of the development.

The benefits of delivering three dwellings to address the identified housing shortfall and the economic and social benefits were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the adverse impacts of unsafe access and inadequate servicing arrangements that could not be resolved by condition.