Westwood Home Farm, London Road, Great Horkesley Colchester CO6 4BS Data via plota.co.uk

260450 - Class R agricultural buildings to a flexible commercial use Refused
AgriculturalChange of useCommercial premises

Proposal

Application to determine if prior approval is required for a proposed change of use from Agricultural buildings formerly used for livestock and agricultural equipment storage to a mixed commercial use. Data via plota.co.uk

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View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
12 Mar 2026
✗
Refused
7 May 2026
Appeal
Not lodged

Refused on 7 May 2026 · Last checked 24 Sept 2026

Documents

View the documents on the council's website ↗

Site constraints 4

Agricultural land, grade 3a
Best and most versatile land (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Source: the Predictive Agricultural Land Classification Map (Defra and Natural England, 2025; the Welsh Government's Predictive ALC Map 2 in Wales), a model rather than a site survey. Natural England's Provisional ALC map (1:250,000, 1970s), which most planning maps still show, had this area as grade 2. The predicted grade is Defra's current estimate; only a site survey settles it.
Where development of farmland is needed, policy prefers poorer land over the best and most versatile (grades 1, 2 and 3a). Three sources: Natural England's post-1988 field surveys, which are definitive where they exist; the Defra predictive map for England (2025) and the Welsh Government predictive map, modelled from the soil map with 3a and 3b split; and the 1970s provisional map, which planners and other services still show, coarser and with grade 3 undivided. Where the provisional and predicted grades disagree, treat the predicted grade as the current estimate and expect an application to carry its own survey.
National infrastructure project 240 m away: Norwich to Tilbury
The site is 240 m from the project boundary. Electricity line, examination closed, recommendation due.
Nationally significant infrastructure projects (power stations, electricity lines, pipelines, major roads and railways, harbours, airports and reservoirs) are consented by a Secretary of State under the Planning Act 2008, after an examination by the Planning Inspectorate, rather than by the council. The boundary is the one the Inspectorate consults on and can change as the scheme does. Projects are shown within 2 km of the site.
Planning Inspectorate project page ↗
Also on the record
2 listed buildings within 150 m; Priority habitat 33 m away: Deciduous woodland.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England, the Planning Inspectorate and council datasets, Open Government Licence. A boundary can run through a site and the council holds the definitive record: confirm with the council before relying on this.

Sales history 2

Last sold for £875,000 in December 2025. Detached house, freehold.

5 December 2025£875,000Recorded as a transfer outside a standard sale
6 December 2004£465,000

Sale prices from HM Land Registry's price paid record, matched to this application by its address.

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Important details

Council
Colchester
Application type
Class R agricultural buildings to a flexible commercial use
Postcode
CO6 4BS
Received
12 Mar 2026
Validated
12 Mar 2026
Ward
Rural North
Parish
Great Horkesley
Case officer
Show
Target decision
7 May 2026
Decision
Prior Approval Required (Refused)
Decision date
7 May 2026
Applicant
Show
Agent
Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 56 days from validation, 28 days slower than Colchester's median of 28 for agricultural works. Refused, as 19% of agricultural works here are.

85%decided within 8 weeks
81%approved
26decided in the last year

Plota live figures for agricultural works decided by Colchester in the last twelve months, from validation. Colchester decision record →

Consultation & key dates

Comments by
12 Apr 2026

Historical activity at this location

31 previous applications on record - archival context, not part of the live application.

This property

Previous applications at this address

2021 Approved
Change of use of land from Agricultural land to garden land (C3 Domestic)
210086
2018 Approved
Change of use of existing outbuilding into office use and associated car park; addition o…
182207
2018 Approved
Listed Building Application: Change of use of existing outbuilding into office use and as…
182685
2017
Proposed residential redevelopment of redundant agricultural buildings
171241
2017
Proposed residential redevelopment of redundant agricultural buildings
171241
2016 Approved
Construction of a replacement 5 bedroom detached dwelling at Westwood Home Farm, London R…
162417
Within ~100m

Nearby activity

2025 Approved
Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley Essex CO6 4BS
Retrospective consent for minor alterations to the scheme approved under application ref…
250386
2025 Approved
Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley Essex CO6 4BS
Retrospective consent for minor alterations to the scheme approved under application ref…
250387
2021 Approved
Westwood Home Farm, Westwood Home Farm, London Road, Great Horkesley CO6 4BS
Adjustment to the location of the building footprint for a previously agreed planning app…
210827
2020 Approved
Westwood Home Farm, Westwood Home Farm, London Road, Great Horkesley CO6 4BS
Erection of a new 5 bedroom, 2 storey single detached family house, with separate cart-lo…
202002
2020 Approved
Westwood Home Farm, Westwood Home Farm, London Road, Great Horkesley CO6 4BS
Erection of a new 5 bedroom, 2 storey single detached family house, with separate cart-lo…
202002
2018 Approved
Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley Colchester CO6 4BS
Demolition of rear lobby. Orangery and rear entrance lobby extension.Demolition and repla…
183109
2018 Approved
Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley Colchester CO6 4BS
Demolition of rear lobby. Orangery and rear entrance lobby extension. Demolition and repl…
183108
2018 Approved
Westwood Park, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley CO6 4BS
Relocation of Existing Mobile Home for Gardener's Accommodation
183036
2018 Approved
Coach House, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley Colchester CO6 4BS
Change of use from private residential to mixed use residential and offices
180894
2018 Withdrawn
Coach House, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley Colchester CO6 4BS
Change of use from private residential to mixed use residential and offices
180895
2017 Approved
Yew Cottage, London Road, Great Horkesley Colchester CO6 4BS
Kitchen extension
171491
2017 Approved
Yew Cottage, London Road, Great Horkesley Colchester CO6 4BS
Kitchen extension
171491
2016 Approved
Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley CO6 4BS
Construction of a new stable building and arena within the grounds of the East Fields at…
161557
2016 Approved
Westwood Park, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley Colchester CO6 4BS
Removal of existing masonry pier.
161457
2016 Approved
Westwood Park, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley Colchester CO6 4BS
The demolition of an existing modern external wall to the north elevation of the main hou…
161486
2016
Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley CO6 4BS
Construction of a new stable building and arena within the grounds of the East Fields at…
161558
2021 Approved
Westwood Home Farm, London Road, Great Horkesley CO6 4BS
Application to discharge conditions 3, 4, and 5 of approved application 202002
210449
2021
Westwood Park, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley CO6 4BS
Application to discharge condition 3 of planning approval 183108
210327
2021
Westwood Park, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley Colchester CO6 4BS
Application to discharge conditions 3, 4(i), 4(iii), 4(iv) and 8 from listed building con…
210315
2020 Approved
Westwood Home Farm, Westwood Home Farm, London Road, Great Horkesley CO6 4BS
Application to discharge condition 5 (Archaeological) of planning permission 182207
202777
2020 Approved
Westwood Home Farm, Westwood Home Farm, London Road, Great Horkesley CO6 4BS
Application to discharge condition 5 (Archaeological) of planning permission 182207
202777
2019 Approved
Westwood Park, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley CO6 4BS
Application to discharge conditions 3, 4(i), 4 (iii) and 4 (iv) and 8 of listed building…
191270
2019 Approved
Westwood Park, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley CO6 4BS
Application for approval of details reserved by condition. (183108)
191269
2019 Approved
Westwood Park, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley CO6 4BS
Application to discharge conditions 3, 4(i), 4 (iii) and 4 (iv) and 8 of listed building…
191270
2019 Approved
Westwood Park, Westwood Park, London Road, Little Horkesley CO6 4BS
Application for approval of details reserved by condition. (183108)
191269
Colchester
Planning Authority Score
6.2/10
Average
#91 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Change of use

Colchester is faster than most councils at deciding householder applications, ranking #43 out of 296. Only 27% of applications have the time limit extended, well below the 41% national average - the council usually decides on time. Colchester is also one of the strictest councils - it refuses more householder applications than almost any other, with only 84% approved vs 90% nationally.

One of the strictest councils
only 84% approved vs 90% nationally
These figures are council-wide context, not a prediction for this application. View full council performance
Colchester decision statistics
Based on MHCLG data, the year to March 2026
82%
Overall approval rate
Below avg (87%) #245 of 296
84%
Householder approved
Below avg (90%) #255 of 296
79%
Decided in 8 weeks
Above avg (63%) #43 of 296
27%
Extended time limit
Below avg (41%) #39 of 296
67%
Minor dwellings approved
69 decided (1-9 homes)
85%
Major dwellings approved
13 decided (10+ homes)
75%
Change of use approved
89 decided
1,074
Total decisions
188 refused in the year to March 2026
Source: MHCLG planning statistics · See full council rankings

Sale prices: Contains HM Land Registry data © Crown copyright and database right 2026. This data is licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.