Developer plans to build 117 new homes on town green-belt land
PLANNING permission is being sought for 117 new homes plus new cycle routes and roads in Wickford.
Crest Nicholson wants to build the homes on the west side of the town near London Road, an area designated as green belt.
The plans have been submitted to Basildon Borough Council and are set to be considered by a planning committee at a later date.
The plan consists of the homes, arbout 40 per cent of which would be affordable housing, plus new vehicle access roads, cycle routes and a parkland area.
The main entrance to the new residential development would be from London Road, with a vehicle access point, plus additional pedestrian access points from the north-east quarter of the site on the same road. There would also be pedestrian access from the south from Belmont Avenue.
Crest Nicholson says it wants to introduce “functional” open spaces with parkland included in the designs to “respect and utilise” the existing site features. The site is currently mainly made up of farmland and hedgerows.
Crest Nicholson is proposing two main open spaces in the development, in the centre and to the west side which would face more open farmland.
In its design and access statement, it said of the centre space: “This area is green and leafy in nature, with the smaller of the two north/south treebelts running through it. This area is surrounded by denser parcels of the site, featuring semi-detached and terraced houses, meaning it is also strongly overlooked.”
On the western one, it said: “The buildings surrounding this area are larger and all detached, looking on to the wider green space. This is the key public open space, with the larger tree belt running along the middle along with the enhanced
The area of green-belt land south of London Road, Wickford, planned for homes
public right of way.”
Crest Nicholson has acknowledged that the development would represent an “inappropriate” amount of housing for an area of green belt. But it has insisted the amount of open spaces it wishes to include would mitigate agaisnt the impact of the homes, and stated that high-quality housing was needed in the borough.
It added: “The proposals include an extensive area of open space and tree planting, with a major new parkland along the western boundary of the site which will provide opportunities for habitat creation which in turn will deliver biodiversity net gains, and enhance the local environment. This should be seen as a positive benefit of the scheme.
“Additional enhancements to informal walking routes can also provide greater opportunities for access to this part of the green belt, not only for future residents of the development but also forthe existing community.”
It added:: “The considerations set out above, most importantly the acute housing position which the borough finds itself in and other associated benefits of the proposals, clearly outweigh the harm identified above, and represent very special circumstances to justify granting planning permission without delay.”