20 Feb Plans approved on appeal for 119 new homes and 66-bed care home in Essex
Pegasus Group has secured permission on appeal, on behalf of Endurance Estates Land Promotion Ltd, for a residential-led, mixed use development of 119 dwellings and a 66-bed care home in the Essex village of Takeley.
Uttlesford District Council, the Local Planning Authority (LPA), last summer refused outline planning permission for the two schemes on land to the east and west of Parsonage Road due to their impact on the Countryside Protection Zone (CPZ) around Stansted Airport.
Pegasus Group provided Planning, Heritage, EIA, Design and Landscape services at the appeal, with evidence given by Planning Director Andrew Hodgson, Senior Director in Heritage Gail Stoten, and Andrew Cook, Executive Director in Environmental Planning.
Andrew Hodgson said: “We are delighted that the Inspector allowed these appeals, a decision demonstrating that careful consideration of the planning strategy to maximise the planning benefits of the scheme, considered landscape design, carefully integrated into the master-planning, and careful consideration of the impact to the setting of a listed church all contributed to the Inspectors decision.”
The outline plans allowed will see development of up to 119 dwellings (with up to 40% affordable housing & 12 self-build plots) including vehicular and pedestrian accesses, infrastructure, open space, footpath links, children’s play area, landscaping and green infrastructure; along with a 66-bed care home including vehicular and pedestrian access, parking, infrastructure, landscaping and associated works.
Gail Stoten said: “The impact of the scheme on the significance of the nearby listed church was an important consideration and we were able to demonstrate that the harm was small and that the church would retain its isolated location.”
And Andrew Cook said: “Based on two illustrative design layouts, one of the main issues was the potential effect of the proposals on the character and appearance as identified by the Countryside Protection Zone having particular regard to these open characteristics and coalescence between Stansted Airport and the proposed development.
“The CPZ imposes strict controls on new development and the Inspector concluded that both sites had strong suburban influences and less rural character and appearance.
“The Inspector said the impact on openness would be limited by a number of factors including large areas of open space, designed as part of the scheme with significant woodland planting to create a naturalistic rural landscape such that the rural setting of the airport would not be materially affected.”
Pegasus Group is a national consultancy with 14 offices across the UK and Ireland offering extensive experience across all sectors of the development industry including planning, design, environment, economics and heritage.
