Residential development in Thurrock gets green light from Secretary of State. Barratt Homes was delighted last week to learn that their application for residential development on Green Belt land adjacent to Butts Lane, Stanford-le-Hope in Thurrock Essex had been approved.

Residential development in Thurrock gets green light from Secretary of State

Barratt Homes was delighted last week to learn that their application for residential development on Green Belt land adjacent to Butts Lane, Stanford-le-Hope in Thurrock Essex had been approved by Eric Pickles, the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government.

Liz Lake Associates was engaged by Barratt Homes early on in the application process, helping to resolve landscape issues by balancing environmental concerns with developmental needs.

For the Secretary of State to grant permission for housing within the Green Belt he has to be satisfied that there are very special circumstances that outweigh the loss of openness and any other harm to the Green Belt. In the case of the Butts Lane proposals, a lack of housing supply land and the provision of 35% affordable housing are both considered very special circumstances. In addition, the Secretary of State accepted that a proposed strategic open space, which would help to satisfy identified green infrastructure needs, is a significant material consideration that contributes towards very special circumstances required for new residential development in the Green Belt.

Thurrock Council had undertaken a number of studies over the years to identify potential sites for residential development close to Stanford Le Hope; all the sites were within the Green Belt. Barratt Homes was considering one of the identified sites but had also acquired options on adjacent land when they engaged Liz Lake Associates to work on the project.

Matt Lee, Senior Associate at Liz Lake Associates, was asked to consider both the identified site and the newly optioned land and define an area suitable for housing that would respond to the landscape context and comply with local policy and guidance. Matt had to take account of a range of plans and approaches including the Greening the Gateway initiative for Thames Gateway and its delivery mechanism the Greengrid, as well as Thurrock’s own Green Infrastructure Plan.

Matt was able to define a suitable boundary for the residential development that responded to the local topography. He also identified that adjacent available land, currently a golf course, could help to fulfil green infrastructure needs.

Liz Lake Ecologist Susan Deakin undertook the ecological assessments for the project and there was general agreement that the proposals had the potential to be of significant overall benefit to nature conservation interests in the wider environs of the site. A pro-active strategy of ecological mitigation and enhancement measures was proposed to safeguard populations of great crested newts, viviparous lizard, grass snake and other protected species of reptile, along with badgers and populations of invertebrates and birds.

An additional fundamental benefit of the scheme, the significance of which was recognised by Natural England and the Secretary of State, was the ability of the strategic open space to accommodate local recreational pressure and deflect prospective visitors away from the nearby Mucking Flats and Marshes, a designated site of UK and international importance for wildfowl and other wildlife.

Thames Gateway Development Corporation, the planning authority, was minded to approve the development despite opposition from Thurrock Council, the local authority. However, the Secretary of State decided to call in the application for inquiry to address potential conflicts with national policies on key issues including Green Belt development, housing land supply, affordable housing and the contribution of the Strategic Open Space to the Greengrid.
Liz Lake Senior Associate Michelle Bolger gave evidence on behalf of Barratt Homes on the visual impacts on the Green Belt and on the contribution that the proposed Strategic Open Space made to the Greengrid. The Inspector and subsequently the Secretary of State agreed with her evidence that the Strategic Open Space would contribute to an identified shortfall in open space provision within Thurrock.

The Inspector considered of particular importance the arrangement of the various routes through the Strategic Open Space, which he considered “would have substantial benefits in relation to achieving/improving the Greengrid. This is not only because of the provision of the routes through the site, linking up a number of existing footpaths and enabling use of the network with considerably less need to use busy local roads, but also because the use of the routes would be greatly enhanced by the presence of the open space provided. The open space would also have considerable benefits in deflecting visitors away from the Thames Estuary and Marshes, relieving pressure on important sites.”

The decision is a mark of support for a landscape-led approach to identifying locations for residential development and for the importance of green infrastructure strategies.

A PDF of the news story can be downloaded here. The Inspector's report & Decision Letter can be downloaded here.