Land adj to, Oxley House, Mersea Road, Abberton Colchester CO5 7NR Data via plota.co.uk

260013 - Full (8 Week Determination) Approved

Proposal

Erection of 2 x 3 bedroom dwellings, 1 x 4 bedroom dwelling and carport Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
2 Jan 2026
✓
Validated
9 Jan 2026
✓
Approved
27 Jul 2026

Approved on 27 Jul 2026 · Last checked 24 Sept 2026

Site constraints 3

Agricultural land, grade 3b
Not 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) agrees.
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.
Habitat network: Network Enhancement Zone 1
Where habitat is joined up enough to work as a network. Context, not a constraint on its own.
Also on the record
Priority habitat 6 m away: No main habitat but additional habitats present.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No listed building at the site

Checked on 6 October 2026. Historic England, the Environment Agency, Natural England 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.

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Important details

Council
Colchester
Application type
Full (8 Week Determination)
Postcode
CO5 7NR
Received
2 Jan 2026
Validated
9 Jan 2026
Ward
Mersea & Pyefleet
Parish
Abberton & Langenhoe
Case officer
Show
Target decision
6 Mar 2026
Decision
Approve Conditional
Decision date
27 Jul 2026
Applicant
Show

How this decision compares

Decided in 199 days from validation, 139 days slower than Colchester's median of 60 for new homes. Approved, as 61% of new homes here are.

42%decided within 8 weeks
61%approved
68decided in the last year

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

Consultation & key dates

Comments by
30 Jan 2026
Colchester
Planning Authority Score
6.2/10
Average
#91 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Householder decisions

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