'Use land for housing targets'

12:42pm Wednesday 25th June 2008

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A BEAUTY spot should be concreted over because Basildon Council is failing to get enough new houses built, an inquiry was told.

Gleeson Homes, which owns about 100 acres of the Barn Hall open space, off Station Avenue, Wickford, is appealing Basildon Council's refusal of planning permission for up to 200 homes.

Yesterday, on the first day of a planning inquiry at the Basildon Centre, Peter Harrison QC, representing Gleeson, said Barn Hall had been designated suitable for housing since the 1990s.

He said: "Time has moved on and the only significant change is the need for housing has become more acute and a backlog of need has arisen.

"This council has failed to meet housing requirements under the East of England plan or equivalent for every year since 2001, sometimes significantly less than 50 per cent of the requirement.

"The council's case is nothing should be done and the backlog of homes should continue to grow.

"It is patently obvious now is the time for the appeal site to be called up."

The proposals would take up just 10.6 acres of Barn Hall, but Mr Harrison hinted there could be further applications for more of Gleeson's land at later dates.

Mr Harrison explained the land was designated as a special reserve area for housing by the council itself, in the early 1990s, and put into its local plan, following lengthy reviews of alternative sites.

He said: "It was then approved by a public inquiry when an inspector, who considered issues of green belt, traffic, access, sustainability and wildlife, agreed it was a suitable site."

The council's local plan, which gave Barn Hall long-term housing status, expired in 2006, but the authority failed to get a replacement ratified in time.

It is now creating a development framework to replace this.

Michael Bedford, representing the council, said the old policy, which is still in place, made it clear there could be no homes built until another review of the designation took place.

This is currently underway through the development framework.

He said: "Planning permission for permanent development of the land will not be granted until there has been a review of the current plan which proposes development of the site."

The inquiry continues.