Basilica House, 334 Southend Road, Wickford, Essex, SS11 8QS

render existing brickwork and add second storey to create 2no. 3 bedroom flats with private balconies, associated parking, cycle stores & refuse store

Authority: Basildon District Council
Appeal type: minor · Planning Appeal
Procedure: Written Representations
Development: residential · Minor Dwellings
Inspector: Johnson B

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

The effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area

What decided it

The adverse impacts on character and appearance would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of the proposal when assessed against the policies in the Framework taken as a whole, such that paragraph 11d(ii) indicates permission should not be granted.

The benefits of providing 2 additional residential units (moderate weight) were significantly and demonstrably outweighed by the adverse impacts on character and appearance, resulting in dismissal despite the Council's inability to demonstrate a five-year housing land supply

Framework references: 11, 131, 135, 139

Plan policies cited: Policy BAS BE12

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.

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