A planning inspector has turned down plans for 175 homes on the edge of Clacton

28 Sep A planning inspector has turned down plans for 175 homes on the edge of Clacton

A planning inspector has turned down plans for 175 homes on the edge of Clacton.

Ray Chapman Associates applied in November 2015 for the development to be built in Centenary Way, close to the Morrisons supermarket.

Tendring District Council (TDC) refused the application in June 2016, saying that the development would close the green gap between Clacton and Little Clacton.

The developer won on appeal in September last year, but TDC successfully got the decision quashed after taking the case to the High Court, which meant a second appeal was heard.

Now a planning inspector has upheld the council’s original decision – and denied the application.

The inspector said that while the development would not join up Clacton and Little Clacton, “it is without doubt that even with landscaping, the introduction of a substantial residential development would change the character of this area from open and edge of settlement to a built-up part of a wider urban area”.

The inspector added: “This would harm the open character of the area and the open approach to Clacton physically bringing Little Clacton and Clacton much closer together.”