ONGAR: Final go-ahead given for station homes

8:39am Thursday 21st August 2008

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FOR many years it has been said that homes would one day be built at Ongar Station, and now final planning permission has been given for 52 properties.

However reaction to the housing development remains mixed.

While a district council planning officer describes the David Wilson Homes scheme for the former station goods yard as “unique”, the town council is still concerned that part of the development will be three-storey.

Ongar councillor Derek Jacobs told last night's district council’s area planning committee: “The actual principal of building on this plot is not in dispute, it’s the height of it. Ongar is a small country town it’s not inner city, it’s not even the suburbs. It’s not really suitable for three-storey buildings.”

His views were echoed by town council vice-chairman Brian Surtees.

He said: “We (the town council) were impressed with the general design and the way in which the development fits in with the surroundings but the view was that three storeys spoils that.”

He also voiced concern about the infrastructure, the additional traffic, and the amount of consultation that had taken place with local residents.

Councillor Maggie McEwen, who failed to win sufficient support to her call for a decision to be put off until a public meeting was held to discuss the plans, said: “I think three storeys is too high and 61 houses per hectare is a higher density than we should be looking at.”

Planning officer Nigel Richardson said planning notices had gone up at the site and letters were sent to neighbouring properties – a point illustrated by the 12 letters of objection that had been received.

The scheme will comprise 23 two-bed flats, two two-bed houses, five three-bed houses and nine four-bed houses, as well as a young parents (mother and baby) complex of 12 one-bed flats and one two-bed flat with the unit’s occupants accepted from the Epping Forest, Brentwood and Uttlesford council districts.

Mr Richardson described the scheme as having a “fairly spacious” layout with plenty of greenery and amenity space.

“There isn’t really neighbouring properties. There’s the railway line and then Bowes Drive,” he said. “There’s an opportunity really here for a unique development. We’ve got to provide more housing – it’s a brownfield site.”

Andrew Butcher, planning consultant for David Wilson Homes, said the proposals were “entirely suitable” for the 0.85-hectare site.

He said the county council had not objected on highways grounds and said the density of the properties conformed with county council and government policies. He said the development was an “efficient and effective” use of brownfield land.

Council leader Di Collins, congratulating the developer, said: “I think for once we have a really good design here. It’s a considerable improvement on some of the designs we’ve seen lately.

“It’s filled in a large number of flats but we have to manage the number of brownfield sites in the district.”

The application was approved by 14 votes to nil, with two abstentions.