Permission granted for the creation of a field access and a permanent vehicular access from Western Road

27 November 2018

During a Planning Committee meeting at Braintree District Council on Tuesday 20th November, members resolved to grant Redrow Homes planning permission for the creation of a field access and a permanent vehicular access from Western Road.

Replacing the Western Road Hedgerow

The outline planning permission to develop the site, granted by a Planning Inspector appointed by the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government in March 2017, established that the site access should be provided from Western Road. One of the key issues raised by the creation of a safe vehicle access in this location was the need to remove the Western Road hedgerow. Having assessed the impact of the development proposals on the landscape character and environment – including the loss of the Western Road hedgerow – the Planning Inspector concluded that the public benefits of the housing development would outweigh the harmful effects.

Braintree District Council’s officers and members gave particularly careful thought to the removal of this hedge, but it is worth highlighting the fact that they were required to take the Planning Inspector’s earlier decision into consideration. Although Redrow explored the possibility of transplanting the hedge at the request of local residents and Silver End Parish Councillors, they were advised by specialist arboriculturalists that this was not an option because the chances of survival were believed to be so low. The presence of some diseased plants and the proximity of many of these plants to the road would make it very difficult to excavate sufficient root mass to enable successful translocation. Although the opinion of Redrow’s specialist advisers was challenged by some members of the local community, the advisers’ conclusions were supported by the Council’s Landscape officer. They also concluded that planting a new hedge further back into the site would be the most practical solution to mitigating the loss of the hedge.

Next Steps

Before any hedge plants are removed from Western Road and the new field access is created, Redrow needs to agree the detailed design of a chestnut hurdle fence, which will provide a linear feature for bats as part of the ecological mitigation. A Road Opening Notice will also need to be obtained from Essex Highways, to seek permission to cone off part of the road whilst the hedge is removed.

In the meantime, we understand that a number of residents were concerned to see vehicles accessing the site from Daniel Way on Wednesday 21st November. One of Redrow’s contractors delivered vehicles and equipment to site ahead of archaeological trial trenching work taking place.

The contractors accessed the site lawfully yesterday, from a public highway. They cut back some bushes and used a small amount of crushed hardcore to fill a depression at edge of the site, to enable vehicles to cross it. Having spoken to Braintree District Council, Redrow have agreed to remove this crushed hardcore, so residents can expect to see some activity in this area whilst this work is undertaken.

Daniel Way is not considered to be a suitable access route for vehicles entering and leaving the site because it is too narrow and is often restricted by parked cars and the presence of a lighting column. Redrow has agreed with Braintree District Council that Daniel Way will not be used to access the site in the future and contractors have also been asked to avoid parking in this area.

Once archaeological works commence, the hours of operation will normally be restricted to the following: Monday to Friday 8am - 6pm; Saturday 8am - 1pm. No work will be undertaken on Sundays or Bank Holidays. Please be aware that staff are likely to arrive on site from 7.30am in order to prepare for work, but no machinery/plant should be starting up before 8am.

If you have any questions or concerns, please email [email protected] or telephone Lorna Byrne or Sean Groves on 020 7357 8000.