Bouchiers Hall, Kelvedon Road, Messing Colchester CO5 9TW Data via plota.co.uk

261616 - Works to Trees in Conservation Area Application Valid

Proposal

T1 Ash - Repeat historic coppice and reduce to a height of 1m. T2 Horse Chestnut - Reduce by a third to reduce sail affect of the canopy and balance overall form of the tree. T3 Horse Chestnut - Reduce crown down to the main fork joint to balance t Data via plota.co.uk

View original council record ↗Last checked

Application progress

✓
Received
7 Sept 2026
Decision
Target date was 2 Nov 2026

Under consideration

No decision has been issued yet. Plota predicted a decision around 6 Nov 2026; it is now day 60.

Site constraints 4

Grade II listed: Bourchiers Hall
List entry 1224625 · The pin is inside its outline · 5 more listed buildings within 150 m (1 Grade II*, 4 Grade II)
Listed building consent is needed for work that affects the special interest of a listed building, inside or out, on top of planning permission. Setting can be a consideration for buildings nearby; there is no fixed radius.
Show the other 5 with distances
Historic England ↗
Messing conservation area
Demolition needs planning permission and permitted development is restricted.
The council must give weight to preserving or enhancing the area's character and appearance. Not every council has published its boundaries as open data.
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.
Also on the record
National infrastructure project 1663 m away: A12 Chelmsford to A120 Widening Scheme.
Not affected
Outside flood zones 2 and 3 · Not green belt · No scheduled monument at the site

Checked on 2 November 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.

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Important details

Council
Colchester
Application type
Works to Trees in Conservation Area
Postcode
CO5 9TW
Received
7 Sept 2026
Validated
7 Sept 2026
Ward
Marks Tey & Layer
Parish
Messing cum Inworth
Case officer
Show
Target decision
2 Nov 2026
Applicant
Show

Decision outlook

Day 60, past the statutory target. 97% of tree works in Colchester are decided within thirteen weeks, which runs to 7 Dec 2026; extensions of time are common, and the council need not decide on the day. Last seen undecided on 4 Nov 2026.

Day 604 days past the 56-day target
87%decided within 8 weeks
96%approved
89,189decided in the last year

Plota live figures for tree works decided across the UK in the last twelve months, from validation; too few recent tree works in Colchester to go on. Colchester decision record →

Colchester
Planning Authority Score
6.2/10
Average
#91 of 296 councils
Relevant to this application:
Other 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