Stambridge Mill owners put in plan for new homes (From Echo)

Stambridge Mill owners put in plan for new homes

10:44am Wednesday 1st September 2010 in

By John Geoghegan »

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PLANS have gone in for a huge housing development at a derelict mill site on the banks of the River Roach.

The proposals for 163 homes at Stambridge Mills, Mill Lane, near Rochford, have been put together by developers the Inner London Group.

The multi-million-pound development to build 28 houses and 135 flats involves demolishing some of the existing mill buildings and refurbishing others.

Inner London Group partner Larry Fentiman said: “This is a really well thought-out scheme.

“I think it will be well-liked when we present it.

“Two and a half years of design work has gone into it so it sits nicely in the setting there.

“It’s already been endorsed by Inspire East, a Government quango.

“We are also doing some flood defence work which all the local community in Stambridge will benefit from.

“This will be in keeping with what’s already there.

“A couple of millions of pounds will be spent on the flood defences alone.”

Mr Fentiman said issues of cost, the number of affordable homes and when work would begin were issues still being worked out.

He said the site had a lot of contamination, which would need to be cleared.

The plans were submitted to Rochford District Council last week but details are still to be validated by the planning department, which means they are not yet publically available.

The council’s planning committee will decide on whether to approve the plans.

This would involve changing the use of the land, which the council has currently earmarked for employment, to residential.

According to the council website, the three- and four-bedroom houses would be three to four storeys high while the flats would be a mix of one- and two-bedroom apartments.

The flats would be partly in the refurbished mills, with a new three-storey block and three five- and six-storey blocks built using the existing foundations.

The developer also wants to build private gardens, a communal open area, a children's play space and a sports pitch plus parking for 313 cars.

Comments(16)

emcee says...
12:33pm Wed 1 Sep 10

“It’s already been endorsed by Inspire East, a Government quango.
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Says it all really.
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Also "..the number of affordable homes ....still being worked out."
Affordable to whom? It really annoys me when they say this because most homes are affordable to somebody.
Most of these "affordable homes" still seem to come in the catagory where the only people who can afford them are those with income over £60,000 and young couples who are in the fortunate position to have parents who will pay the deposits.
In my book "affordable homes" should be affordable to the average, hard working, people who are not lucky enough to have high paid jobs and maybe work in retail or in a basic admin job. That is what affordable homes should mean. I mean, a basic one bed flat can cost over £100,000 these days and you need at least £30,000 a year income, and be able to save the deposit/costs on top, to secure even that.