The Council received a planning application from Croudace Homes Ltd for 344 dwellings on part of the site known as RO3 Land North of Shenfield. This application was considered at Planning Committee in June 2024, and the members of the Committee recommended that the application be refused. An appeal against that decision was lodged by the developer with the Planning Inspectorate and the hearings in which the Inspector would consider the evidence for or against are due to begin this week, Tuesday 11 February.
The Council has since received a revised offer from the developer to increase the number of larger affordable homes on the site and to make more of those homes affordable rental rather than shared ownership. The revised offer is 16 more 3-bed affordable homes on the site (with a corresponding reduction in 2-bed homes) and the over tenure of the affordable has moved from 47% affordable rent to 73% affordable rent, including 17 3-bedroom homes.
This revised offer better reflects the needs of those families on our housing waiting list and is a substantial improvement on that which was previously considered by the Committee last year.
After carefully weighing up the benefits of the offer for the people of Brentwood versus the risks of proceeding with the appeal, and taking detailed legal advice, the decision has been made to accept the revised offer of the developer.
This means that the Council will ask the Planning Inspector to grant planning permission on the site, with the increased affordable housing offer.
We believe that the appeal inquiry will open as expected, however please check our website for further updates.