100 homes at Land North Of Rayne Road, Bannister Green, Felsted

What was proposed

An outline scheme sought up to 100 homes, affordable housing, landscaping, open space and supporting infrastructure, with access from Rayne Road.

“This application seeks outline planning permission, with all matters reserved except access, for the development of up to 100 dwellings, including affordable housing, together with associated infrastructure and open space, on land between Bannister Green and Watch House Green.”

“This application seeks outline planning permission (with all matters reserved except for access) for the residential development of the site to provide up to 100 dwellings, including affordable housing, together with associated public open space, landscaping, sustainable drainage infrastructure and all other necessary supporting infrastructure.”

Officer report

The site and its surroundings

The site was a 4.8-hectare agricultural field between Bannister Green and Watch House Green, with hedgerows, a dwelling and a public right of way.

“The application site comprises a parcel of land measuring approximately 4.8 hectares located to the north of Rayne Road at Bannister Green, within the parish of Felsted. The site lies to the northern edge of the existing settlement cluster and is positioned between Bannister Green and Watch House Green.”

“A public right of way runs along the eastern boundary of the site, with additional routes within the surrounding area providing pedestrian connectivity to Bannister Green, Watch House Green and the wider countryside. The site is not subject to any landscape or heritage designations, and there are no listed buildings within the site itself.”

Officer report

Earlier applications and discussions

Related applications were under consideration elsewhere, while no pre-application discussions took place with the council and the parish disputed the claimed engagement.

“Whilst not related to the site itself, it is relevant to point out that there is also a live application on the northern side of Felsted, Land North of Garnetts Lane and Stebbing Road (UTT/25/1929/OP) that will also being presented to Members at the April planning committee. This is for “Outline planning application for erection of up to 70 no.”

“Also, another current application UTT/25/3242/FUL "Erection of 17 no. dwellings with access, landscaping and associated infrastructure" is currently under consideration which forms part of a larger scheme for 24 dwellings under UTT/20/1882/FUL.”

Officer report

Objections from the community

No supporting representations were received, while objections covered infrastructure, farmland loss, access, flooding, biodiversity, traffic, countryside, amenity and village character.

“Impact to local infrastructure • Loss of farmland • Lack of demand for houses • Conflict with Felsted neighbourhood plan • Coalescence of local area • Poor access • Impact to village character • Low water pressure • Biodiversity/habitat impact • Drainage/flooding issues • Increased traffic demands • Impact to listed buildings • Impact to heritage • Loss of local character • Highway safety • Conflict with UDC Local Plan • Overdevelopment of local area • Noise &…”

“The above representations are addressed in the report where material planning considerations are raised.”

Officer report

Who spoke at the meeting

A parish council representative spoke against the application and the agent spoke in support.

What members debated

Members focused on protecting the hamlets’ identities, clear coalescence, the proposal’s excessive and overbearing scale, and its location outside the village’s built framework.

“In response to questions from Members, officers: • Stressed that in their view there was clear coalescence between two hamlets and that this was of primary concern. • Said there had been no Planning Performance Agreement (PPA) interaction with the Council.”

“Members discussed: • The need for hamlets to keep their identities and the fact that this was clear coalescence in this instance. • The scale of the proposal being too large and overbearing. • The site being outside the built framework of the village.”

Minutes

The committee vote

A councillor proposed refusal, another councillor seconded it, and the committee authorised refusal for the stated reasons.

“Councillor Church proposed refusal of the application, and this was seconded by Councillor Sutton.”

“RESOLVED that the Strategic Director of Planning be authorised to refuse permission for the application for the reasons set out in section 17 of the report.”

Minutes

The final decision

Permission was refused because the development would erode the countryside gap, create coalescence, fail to demonstrate good design and leave protected-species impacts unresolved.

“1 The proposed development, by reason of its location, scale and quantum, would result in the erosion of the open countryside gap between the distinct settlements of Bannister Green and Watch House Green. The development would give rise to significant physical and visual coalescence between these settlements, materially diminishing their separate identity and the openness of the intervening landscape.”

“3 In the absence of sufficient ecological survey information, the Local Planning Authority cannot be satisfied that the proposed development would not result in unacceptable harm to European Protected Species, in particular Great Crested Newts, or that appropriate mitigation measures could be secured.”

Officer report