Acting on behalf of Redrow Homes, we secured permission for Reserved Matters within a challenging timescale, by working closely with the LPA.
Outline planning permission for the Ballards Walk site, to the north west of Basildon Town Centre, was granted in May 2015. The permission, for 135 dwellings with associated car parking and landscaping, reserved all matters except for access. The site was public open space, owned by Basildon Borough Council and attracted a significant amount of public attention during the outline and reserved matters applications.
Basildon Council had undertaken an extensive public engagement exercise prior to the outline application, so our communications team ensured that this consultation continued. We updated and liaised with local residents to explain Redrow’s detailed plans for the site and respond to their questions.
Due to the tight timescales associated with this site, we ensured that detailed pre-application discussions were held with the LPA at the earliest possible opportunity. The formation of a Planning Performance Agreement (PPA), at the request of Redrow, ensured that council officers provided the resources required to achieve determination of the application on time and within 12 weeks of submission.
The Ballards Walk scheme evolved, through the process, into a design that satisfied the requirements of the LPA and which provided much needed housing for the local community for both private sale and rent. The buildings were designed carefully and sensitively, to provide high quality homes that respond positively to the scale and context of the area and create an attractive development.
Officers concluded that: “The design and character of the development respects the surrounding area and provides a traditional elevational treatment that will contribute to the appearance of the area, meeting the housing demand within the Borough.” By successfully demonstrating that Redrow’s proposals were acceptable and in accordance with the Local Plan, Development Control Guidelines and the National Planning Policy Framework, we were able to avoid a committee decision. Our reserved matters application was approved under delegated powers at the end of September 2015.
We continued to work with Redrow, liaising with archaeologists and other members of the project team in relation to the discharge of pre-commencement conditions. This enabled Redrow to start on site at the earliest opportunity.
Summary of achievements
- Provision of advice on planning matters and parameters set at the outline application stage
- Use of a PPA to drive the pre-application and post submission process and secure a timely decision
- Coordination of the consultant team
- Preparation and submission of a Reserved Matters planning application
- Close liaison with planning officers throughout the process
- Consultation strategy advice and neighbour engagement
- Securing agreement from Essex County Council in relation to highways
- Planning permission obtained within the timescales set by the client
- Successfully securing consent under delegated powers, avoiding the need for committee decision
- Enabling the delivery of a high quality residential development in a sustainable location
