Two detached houses and lodge extension at The Lodge, Goldings Hill, Loughton

What was proposed

The application sought an extension to The Lodge and two new four-bedroom detached houses with driveways and access from Goldings Road.

“Planning permission is sought to extend The Lodge in the form of a single storey rear extension measuring 8m wide and 3m deep, set in 1m from the rear boundary with materials to match the existing dwelling and develop the rear garden involving its subdivision and the construction of 2, 4- bed detached houses to the east of the site fronting onto Goldings Road with side driveways and vehicle access onto Goldings Road.”

“An amendment to the proposed single storey rear extension has been made by the applicant showing a slight reduction in its overall height. The top of the extension will now be flush with the decorative moulding of the existing Lodge which proposes to carry around the extension as a decorative barge board.”

Officer report

The site and its setting

The Lodge is a late nineteenth-century locally listed dwelling on a large corner plot within an established suburban area and the SAC buffer zone.

“The Lodge is a late 19th century building (built between 1880 -1896) which is a non-designated heritage asset included in the EFDC Local List of Heritage within a large plot.”

“The site is located within the 400m buffer zone of the Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation (SAC). The site is not within a conservation area or listed and lies within Flood Zone 1 of the Environment Agency Flood Mapping.”

Officer report

Consultation and objections

The Town Council, residents’ association and five neighbours objected over heritage, overdevelopment, amenity, highways, trees, biodiversity and the SAC.

“- The Lodge is a well-known landmark building, included on EFDC’s list of locally listed buildings for Loughton (no 41). It is located on a prominent corner, this proposal would have a deleterious effect on the street scene, caused by loss of character. - The proposed two further dwellings fronting Goldings Road represent an overdevelopment of the site. impact on the amenity of neighbours.”

“Goldings Road - Detrimental impact on neighbouring amenity, noise, over development of a garden, visual impact to The Lodge, highway issues and concern about biodiversity, - The design of the proposed new houses in its garden is very close to The Lodge, thus making it lose its place as a detached, stand alone, historic house which will become lost and dwarfed, thus losing its grandeur as a gate house to the estate.”

Officer report

Who spoke

The committee heard from the planning officer, an objector, the Town Council, the applicant’s agent and a ward councillor.

Members’ discussion

Members discussed the application and considered whether stronger safeguards were needed for the veteran oak and other retained trees.

“The application had been deferred by Planning Committee B at the meeting held on 19 November 2025 to allow for comments from the Council’s Trees and Landscape Officer. The Committee discussed the planning merits of the application. It was noted the Arboriculture and Impact Assessment recommended a larger 19-metre protection area for the veteran oak tree including other precautionary measures and preventative tree fencing.”

Minutes

The committee vote

The committee voted to approve the application with conditions, including additional assurance that the trees would be protected.

“The Committee voted to APPROVE the application with conditions including extra assurance that the trees would be appropriately protected.”

Minutes

The decision and safeguards

Permission was approved because additional homes outweighed the identified heritage and local-context harm, with conditions and a legal agreement protecting the SAC.

“Consequently, the Council is satisfied that, subject to the completion of a Section 106 planning legal obligation and the imposition of relevant planning conditions, the application proposal would not have an adverse effect on the integrity of the EFSAC.”

“In light of the above considerations, it is recommended that planning permission is granted subject to a s106 legal agreement to secure financial contributions and mitigating measures to protect the integrity of the EFSAC in respect of recreational pressure and atmospheric pollution.”

Officer report

Extra tree protection

The added condition requires advance notice, inspections, approved arboricultural methods and written confirmation before works proceed near retained trees.

“No development (including any groundworks, site clearance, or installation of services) shall take place until the Council’s Tree Officer has been notified in writing at least 10 working days before the commencement of any works within the Root Protection Area (RPA) or Construction Exclusion Zone of the retained trees, to allow for a site inspection.”

“No works shall proceed beyond each relevant stage until written confirmation has been issued by the Council that the tree protection measures are acceptable.”

Minutes