Former London Brigade Sports & Social Club, Purfleet Road, Aveley, Thurrock, RM15 4DT

the demolition of existing buildings and structures and redevelopment of the site to provide 43,640 sqm employment development (flexible B2/B8 use with ancillary B1 office); provision of new vehicular, cycle and pedestrian access routes; staff and HGV parking and associated infrastructure

Authority: Thurrock
Appeal type: major · Planning
Procedure: Inquiry
Development: employment-industrial
Postcode: RM15 4DT

Main issues, as the Inspector framed them

the effect of the proposal on the character and appearance of the area, with reference to the setting of the Grade II Listed building Fanns Farmhouse
whether the proposal would be inappropriate development in the Green Belt having regard to the Framework and relevant development plan policies

What decided it

The site was found to be grey belt land meeting the requirements of NPPF paragraph 155, and the compelling public benefits of the employment scheme clearly and convincingly outweighed the less-than-substantial heritage harm to Fanns Farmhouse.

The compelling public benefits of the scheme (economic and employment benefits, sustainable location, biodiversity and sports mitigation) provided clear and convincing justification for the less than substantial harm to the setting of Fanns Farmhouse, and the proposal was found to accord with the development plan as a whole.

Framework references: 143, 153, 155

Plan policies cited: Policy CSTP23, Policy CSTP24, Policy PMD4, Policy CSSP4, Policy PMD6, Policy CSTP14, Policy PMD10, Policy PMD12

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.