SOUTH Essex has a large number of buildings that are protected from being demolished and altered by law - which is either a good or a bad thing, depending on which side of the fence you sit.

However, it can often put the council at odds with developers who are looking to regenerate the buildings. It is often a fine line between allowing developers to change the listed or protected buildings and making sure the historical or architectural significance of them isn’t lost.

There are 130 listed buildings in the Basildon borough, 41 in Castle Point and 21 in Southend, as well as some buildings which are historically or architecturally significant, which are given special protection. These include the Grand, in Leigh, and Elizabeth Cottage, in Billericay.

There are plans to turn Elizabeth Cottage into flats, but there are fears this might mean the building loses its character.

Mick Norcross, who owns the Grand, is attempting to transform the former hotel into flats, a restaurant and gym. However, planning offices have thrown out the proposal due to the penthouse suite having a “detrimental impact and be significantly harmful” to the conservation area and listed buildings.

Southend councillor Mike Flewitt, who deals with planning enquiries, said there were a number of elements that all councillors have to consider when deciding whether or not to grant planning permission.

He added: “It is easy to see why another planning application to bring the Grand back into use and other similar applications elicit such passion in the local community. This passion is shared by the council and every member of the development control committee who examined the plans and reviewed the relevant laws to reach their decision.”

He said the committee felt the plans were not appropriate for such an important historic building. He added that it was not a decision taken lightly and that planning officers had made concessions to help the developer, but they had felt the artists’ impression failed to truly show the height and scale of the proposed penthouse and heightened roof.

Mr Flewitt said: “Scrutinising plans and challenging developers lies at the heart of the planning system. These checks and balances are in place to make sure important historic buildings are not harmed because of a lack of rigour during the planning process.”

He added the council wanted to see historical buildings brought back into use as they are irreplaceable, but to allow changes that could cause significant harm to their special character would change the town forever. He said: “We must achieve the right balance between regeneration and protection of our heritage. We set minimum standards and then assess planning applications on their individual merits against those policies. It may sound like dry stuff but is the very essence of our planning process. Granting permission to applications that don’t meet our policies is a dangerous path to tread.”

Mr Flewitt said dereliction was no the only alternative for the Grand and there were other options. He added: “There is a surge of goodwill to preserve the building and as a council, we will continue to push and challenge so that it has a future worthy of its rich history.”