Thurrock Council Approves 90 Green Belt Homes, Citing Appeal Cost Concerns

Thurrock Council has granted approval for the construction of 90 residences on green belt land located west of Park Lane in Aveley, Essex. This decision was made amidst councillors’ apprehensions that rejecting the proposal could result in an expensive appeal process for the local authority. M Scott Properties will undertake the development. This approval follows a recent decision earlier this month where the Planning Inspectorate upheld an appeal concerning 1,000 new homes on green belt land in East Tilbury, within the same district. The Labour-controlled council incurred costs of £87,000 in its unsuccessful attempt to defend its initial refusal in that instance. Councillor Tom Kelly stated, “Green belt is a good substantive reason to refuse, [but] it’s become clear over the last few weeks that if we continue to reject these they are just going to be lost on appeal.” He further added, “It’s a lot of money and that’s tax payers’ money and we have to justify that cost.” In October, Thurrock Council had postponed its decision on these plans. This deferral was made to evaluate the potential consequences of a refusal, which would have contradicted the recommendation provided by the council officers. According to the Local Democracy Reporting Service, council members had expressed apprehension regarding “substantial harm” to the green belt, as well as potential additional strain on local schools and healthcare services. During the planning committee meeting, councillors ultimately concurred that the development scheme should be approved, having been informed that their grounds for refusal would likely not withstand an appeal. Mr Kelly noted that councillors had previously received warnings against approving developments on green belt land. He commented, “For me as a councillor, it’s getting very difficult and confusing to sum up these applications. Not much has changed in the National Planning Policy Framework. The only thing that’s changed is attitude towards schemes in the green belt so it’s incredibly difficult to try to get your head around.” Labour councillor Steve Liddiard expressed his support for the approval, citing the need for additional housing. He stated, “The deciding factor for me was that we haven’t even got a year’s supply of housing and the homeless situation in Thurrock is appalling at the moment.”