Subsequent
to the article on
There are different opinions regarding the development of this land and the East Area committee of the Association feel that their views were not adequately expressed in the article in last month’s newsletter. Consequently they have made the following comments to more clearly state their position:
“Green
Belt
What is the Green Belt?
Green Belt is an area of land protected from development. Green Belt land surrounds cities and towns to inhibit 'urban sprawl', prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another, preserve the countryside and the setting and character of historic towns, and assist in urban regeneration by promoting 'brownfield' development (development on derelict urban land). Green Belt land is intended to be kept permanently open. Green Belt land is protected both by normal planning controls and an additional presumption against “inappropriate development” within its boundaries.
Controversies
Few contest the need to check urban sprawl, so the main controversy
surrounding the Green Belt is the extent to which it is being eroded
by planning decisions.
Planning Policy Guidance 2
leaves local authorities some leeway in interpreting what is
'inappropriate development' - there are exemptions for buildings used
for agricultural and forestry, for 'essential' leisure facilities,
for cemeteries, for 'limited' renovation of existing buildings and
for 'limited' infilling of settlements within the Green Belt.
Quote
"The green belt is a Labour achievement and we mean to build
on it."(my italics editor – a faux pas, I believe) John
Prescott, Deputy Prime Minister (attributed)
Outline application for residential development including access (approx 70 dwellings) at The Former Billericay School Farm Site
Billericay
School originally unveiled plans to build 70 homes on the six-acre
site in January 2005, only to withdraw the proposals last July, days
before Basildon Council was set to rule on them. Now, more than a
year on, the school has unveiled new outline plans to build the same
number of homes on a smaller patch of green belt land, a fraction
more than four acres in size, to the east of the A176.
The
October edition of The Resident stated that that the Billericay
District Residents’ Association had objected to the outline
planning application as this was contrary to Basildon District
Council Green Belt policy. The policy is that development on the
Green Belt is only permitted on “very special
circumstances”. Members
of the school's governing body say there is no other way to raise
the £7 million needed to carry out a range of important improvements.
Our
objection to Basildon Council does not hinge solely on Green Belt
policy and we wrote that access to the 70 dwellings proposed is
apparently via Bell Hill Close, undoubtedly to the detriment of the
existing residents; and that the application dismisses any
possibility of affordable housing, which is a primary need in
Billericay today - for staff at Billericay School and elsewhere.
Great
Burstead and South Green Parish Council at its meeting on Wednesday
6th September 2006 objected
on green belt grounds, and did not consider that special
circumstances or a balance of benefits had been demonstrated. It
considered that the infrastructure, especially highways and sewerage,
are inadequate for the expansion of housing in this area.
In its comment to the
application Historic Environment states that the proposed development
area is one of significant archaeological potential particularly for
remains of the Late Iron Age and Roman periods which are likely to
exist on site and that the applicant should be required to conduct a
field evaluation to establish the nature and complexity of the
surviving archaeological deposits. This is normally undertaken prior
to a planning decision being made and would be designed to define any
surviving archaeological deposits and their importance.”