Category Archives: Updates

Summer 2015 Update

TfL car park, Updates

The single most serious threat to our Green Belt, and which also has far reaching implications for the future protection of the Green Belt to the east of the village, has been gaining momentum throughout 2014 and into 2015. This is the proposed development by TfL of a commuter car park on the eastern side of the railway lines at the bottom of Station Hill. This was first reported in the TBAG March 2015 Village News article and we have been working tirelessly since then on this legally complicated issue.

It started in March 2014 when the former allotment site was completely razed to the ground, without any consultation, including the destruction of mature and unusual apple trees remaining from its allotment days in the early 20th century. Several differing reasons were given by TfL for this action. Local knowledge is that the site has only been used once in living memory as operational land by TfL, for the storage of containers for a short while in 2005/06. TBAG were concerned not only for the future of this site, but the implications for the existing ‘brownfield’ car park which, in 2009, TfL put forward as a potential site for development as part of the new Local Plan. TBAG finally discovered that an 80 space car park was proposed.

TfL claimed they could carry out this development without planning permission by using permitted development rights, but TBAG pointed out that this did not apply as the site was not ‘wholly within the railway station’. TfL then attempted to use old Victorian Railway Acts to authorise permitted development. Again, TBAG pointed out to EFDC that this was also invalid, since alterations were required to the entrance, which had not been declared. TfL were then required to submit an application for ‘prior approval’ to account for the highway alterations and this was finally refused by Area Planning Sub-Committee East on 13 May 2015. At the same Committee, a full planning application by TfL for only the small alterations to the site entrance was approved. It effectively by-passed the previous prior approval refusal.

EFDC have taken legal advice which agrees with TfL’s barrister’s opinion that there are permitted development rights for this type of development on this site. After having undertaken extensive and detailed research, TBAG took the unprecedented step of taking its own Counsel’s advice which confirmed that TfL do not have permitted development rights on this land for car park development and that a full planning application should be submitted as any landowner would be required to do. With opposing Counsels’ opinions, it all boils down to a question of law.

TBAG are naturally keen to see the law upheld and full formal consultation with all interested third parties carried out, but TfL remain unwilling to submit a full planning application and EFDC do not consider it necessary to request it.

With permitted development applications, only limited comments can be made by the public and Council alike and matters such as Local and Government Green Belt Policies and traffic safety/Highways issues cannot be taken into account. The implications on highways considerations alone present important issues of public safety, which our Parish Council has been keen to bring to the attention of EFDC by commissioning a specialist highways report which supports their stance. Apart from the legal correctness of this proposal, it appears to present an accident waiting to happen which all local interest groups take very seriously.

Despite engaging the support of Eleanor Laing MP, TBAG have been unable to convince TfL or EFDC that a full planning application is the legally correct and most honourable and transparent course of action to take.

Therefore, after much consideration, TBAG has now taken a further unprecedented step and on 22 May 2015 issued at court a claim for application for Judicial Review of the decision taken by Epping Forest District Council on 13 May 2015 which effectively endorsed Transport for London’s assertion that a commuter car park could be constructed on Metropolitan Green Belt land in Theydon Bois Parish using permitted development rights. Our application seeks to have EFDC’s decision quashed. This would leave TfL obliged to submit a full planning application if it wished to develop this site.

TBAG’s solicitors have also written to TfL to request confirmation that no work will be commenced on the site pending the conclusion of these proceedings and we await their reply.

Should EFDC overturn their own decision, declaring the permitted development unlawful and requiring TfL to make a full planning application for any development they might wish to undertake on this site, our legal action could be withdrawn.  However, having corresponded with the Planning Officer concerned, EFDC’s Legal Department and District Councillors on this matter for over four months now, we are not hopeful that this will happen.

So the legal process is now underway to have this matter determined once and for all.  TBAG regrets that it has been forced into taking this action but considers it unavoidable if it is to fulfil its objectives as guardians of the Green Belt surrounding our village from inappropriate or unlawful development.

On other matters, many villagers will be aware that TBAG held a ‘sell out’ fundraising evening in the Theydon Bois Balti House on Monday 27th April. It was a resounding success with good company, excellent food and a fun raffle. In all, we raised over £2,000. Our thanks to all of you who came along and to the many supporters who were unable to attend the event but have made generous individual donations to show your support for TBAG and the work we do to protect our cherished village and precious Green Belt surroundings. Donations to our fighting fund are still possible via the Post Office in the village. You may leave your donation in an envelope marked ‘TBAG’ behind the counter and it will be collected by our Treasurer. Your support really does bring home to us that you value what TBAG stands for and our ongoing efforts to protect the village of Theydon Bois.

On the planning front, TBAG, submitted a strong objection, along with many others, to the application for the demolition of a family house at 47A Theydon Park Road which was due to be replaced with a much larger building containing 5 individual apartments. This application if approved would have set a dangerous precedent for similar developments, not just in Theydon Park Road but all over the village, which would have had a detrimental impact on the existing residential character of Theydon Bois. Fortunately, common sense prevailed and the application was refused at Area Planning Sub-Committee East

The Planning Inspector recently dismissed the appeal for a very large agricultural building off Coopersale Lane, adjacent to Blunts Farm. A further application has since been submitted for a smaller building on the same Green Belt site but this has been refused by Epping Forest District Council.

An application for a new dwelling to replace the derelict Blunts Farmhouse has been refused, pending a reduction in size of the proposed residential curtilage (garden area) on this Green Belt site. This was also considered at Committee but a decision has yet to be taken.

Spring 2015 Update

TfL car park, Updates

Theydon Bois Action Group (TBAG) was disappointed that new Permitted Development legislation, which the Government brought into effect in April 2014, did not exempt the Green Belt in spite of strong views which were expressed in responses to the Government’s Consultation Document. We were, however, pleased to see a press release and Ministerial Statement in October 2014 from the Secretary of State, Eric Pickles MP, urging Councils to ‘Protect our precious Green Belt land’. We hope that Epping Forest District Council (EFDC) will take this on board in developing the new Local Plan which will determine where, and how many, dwellings are required for the next 20 years. This Ministerial Statement is of particular importance as our District comprises of some 92.4% Green Belt land. We note with interest that Guildford Borough Council in Surrey has announced that it will reassess its Draft Local Plan in the light of the new Government Planning Practice Guidance on the Green Belt. EFDC’s Consultation on the “Preferred Options”, where development could potentially take place, has slipped further and is now scheduled for June to September 2015.

The most serious threat to our Green Belt, and which also has far reaching implications for the future protection of the Green Belt to the east of the village, has been gaining momentum throughout 2014. The first indications of this threat took place back in March 2014 when contractors for Transport for London (TfL) cleared the former allotment site to the east of the tube line of all vegetation. The whole site was effectively razed to the ground, including the destruction of old apple trees which remained from the allotment days. This action on behalf of TfL took place with no warning and no consultation with the Parish Council or villagers. Various spurious explanations were given by TfL before TBAG finally learned that the construction of an 80 space car park was proposed for the site, which TfL claimed they could carry out without planning permission.

TfL claim that they can exercise Permitted Development rights, based on old Victorian railway acts going back to 1845, which they have supported with Advice from their Counsel. TBAG are not convinced of this and engaged our own barrister who has advised that the proposed development of a car park does not constitute Permitted Development and that a full planning application should be requested by Epping Forest District Council as a matter of law. Only with a normal planning application can a full and proper consultation with all interested third parties take place. Under Permitted Development, only limited comments can be made. Matters such as important Local and Government Green Belt Policies and traffic safety/Highways issues cannot be taken into account. Theydon Bois Action Group, our Parish Council and Rural Preservation Society are committed to doing all they can to ensure that TfL should submit a proper planning application. TBAG are currently considering taking further legal action in the form of a Judicial Review should this be necessary.

The Chairpersons of TBAG, Theydon Bois & District Rural Preservation Society and CPRE – Epping Forest Branch met with Eleanor Laing MP recently to discuss the situation and seek her support. Villagers may not be aware that, in 2009, TfL put forward Theydon Bois station car park as a potential site for development as part of the new Local Plan. The existing car park site is brownfield land and we do not know what plans TfL may have in store for this site in the future!

Winter 2014 Update

Updates

The preparation of the District’s new Local Plan is slowly moving forward but the publication of the Consultation on the ‘Preferred Options’ – where development is likely to take place – is not now due until mid May 2015. Epping Forest District Council is currently considering three main housing target options for the District, which range from between 6,400 and 10,200 new homes being built and which will require the release of Green Belt land. Unfortunately, all Local Authorities have to follow the Government’s National Planning Policy Framework which insists that they must take ‘account of migration’ when assessing housing need.

However, a recent Ministerial statement, on 6th October, from Eric Pickles MP said that ‘Councils must protect our precious Green Belt land’ and also that ‘housing need – including for traveller sites – does not justify the harm done to the green belt by inappropriate development’. Theydon Bois Action Group (TBAG) is not sure whether this is a ‘sea change’ in Government Policy which will now prevent building on Green Belt land or merely an attempt to pass the blame onto Local Authorities. Only time will tell.

On 5th November, the Chairman of TBAG took part in the London Green Belt Council’s launch of the first comprehensive Map of the Metropolitan Green Belt at the House of Commons. It is clear that our concerns regarding pressure for development on our Green Belt land are also shared by all 70 member Constituencies of the London Green Belt Council.

Specific planning applications which affect Theydon Bois:

Sixteen String Jack public house. TBAG, along with many other village groups and individuals, has raised a strong objection to the proposed demolition of the pub to make way for 13 new apartments (EPF/2040/14).

Tennis Club. The other planning item of particular importance to Theydon Bois residents is the Appeal by the Tennis Club to the Planning Inspectorate following the refusal by EFDC to allow flood lighting of one of the courts. TBAG has submitted a further objection against what would be a highly intrusive development on a sensitive Green Belt site, which forms part of the Buxton Trust land.

Blunts Farm. A proposal for a large new agricultural machinery storage building in a small field in Coopersale Lane (EPF/1593/14) was refused by EFDC. The applicant has now submitted an Appeal to the Planning Inspectorate to which TBAG will be making a further representation.

Stable adjacent to 1 Gun Cottage, Abridge Road (EPF/0255/14). Following a refusal by EFDC to convert the stable to a new dwelling, the applicant has now lodged an Appeal with the Planning Inspectorate. TBAG will also submit a further objection to this inappropriate development on a Green Belt site at the rural edge of the village.

This being the centenary of the start of WW1, our Committee felt quite strongly that they would like to lay a wreath at the village war memorial on behalf of TBAG. Had those service personnel, and thousands of servicemen and women since, not given their lives for our freedom, TBAG, if it existed at all, could have very different aims today. We decided not to use ‘fighting funds’ so a collection was made from Committee members for the wreath which was laid by our Vice-Chair.

TBAG extends season’s greetings to all villagers and wishes you all the very best for the New Year.

Autumn 2014 Update

Updates

In our June report we mentioned the promising Ten Minute Rule Bill, which had been raised in the House of Commons by Greg Mulholland MP and had cross party support. He was critical of certain aspects of the National Planning Policy Framework, which appeared to override the Localism Bill and put the wishes of developers over those of local communities, especially with regard to building on green field and Green Belt sites in preference to brownfield sites. Unfortunately the Bill did not receive a second reading because the allotted date of 6th June 2014 was the day of the Normandy D Day celebrations and the House did not sit.

Also of national interest, the Department for Communities and Local Government has just published yet another public consultation document, entitled “Technical Consultation on Planning”, with the stated aim of improving the planning system. The following link gives details of the Consultation:

https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/technical-consultation-on-planning

Theydon Bois Action Group will examine this document and respond as appropriate.

The progress of Epping Forest District Council’s (EFDC) new “Local Plan” seems to be suffering further delays and it is unclear now if the “Preferred Options”, as to where new development could take place within our District, will be announced by the 30th October 2014 as previously stated. From September, a series of Area Based Workshops will be set up so that Councillors can begin to consider the options and implications for their area of the District. The target date for submission of the new District wide Local Plan for examination by the Secretary of State is now scheduled for the autumn of 2016.

Theydon Bois Action Group continues to monitor local planning applications which would have a harmful impact on the Green Belt around our village. We have raised comprehensive objections and made presentations at EFDC Planning Committees where appropriate.

Blunts Farm – EPF/0382/14: Agricultural storage building refused under permitted development but was resubmitted as a full planning application EPF/1193/14. This was also refused due to the harm to the Green Belt which would be caused by its size and location, along with lack of evidence of agricultural need.

EPF/1032/14: Another application for a large agricultural machinery storage building in a small field in Coopersale Lane, was refused under permitted development. This has also been resubmitted as a full planning application, EPF/1593/14, to which TBAG has raised an objection.

Oak Hill Farm – EPF/0670/14: TBAG spoke against this application, for a 1.8 metre high perimeter fencing around the entire Oak Hill Farm site, at Planning East Committee in July, when it was refused. It was then referred to the higher District Development Control Committee meeting on 13th August, when the recommendation from Planning East for ‘refusal’ was rejected by a majority of one vote, in spite of strong representations from TBAG and Councillor Sue Jones. However, the permission for the fencing will include a condition preventing the planting of Laurel (an invasive species) as screening.

Sixteen String Jack Public House: Many of you will have noticed that the pub has closed. The same developers who built apartments on the Railway Arms site have now drawn up plans for apartments on this site but no formal planning application has been submitted to date. Theydon Bois Action Group will carefully consider any proposals but take the view that any development must respect the sensitivity of the site which is bordered by Green Belt land at the rural/settlement edge of the village.

Spring 2014 Update

Updates, Village News

(This update also  appeared in the Theydon Bois Village News Issue 86 – JUNE 2014)

The most substantial threat to the Metropolitan Green Belt surrounding our village since its introduction in 1955 continues to be the possibility of development on up to 3 sites at the rural edge of the village. These sites, some put forward by local landowners, have been offered as residential development sites to contribute to the projected 20 year housing supply for the district. You may recall the extensive consultation carried out by EFDC in 2012 to identify specific ‘Issues & Options’ for the emerging Local Plan and the maps showing in red those areas which may be suitable (see EFDC website for Local Plan Consultation Document). As part of the process of considering all the issues and options and results of the consultation, roughly monthly Local Plan Cabinet Meetings were scheduled by EFDC. However, each scheduled meeting since the last in March 2013 has been cancelled. We are therefore unaware of how our Local Plan is progressing. TBAG has written to EFDC to establish the current position and we shall mail supporters once we have news. One thing we have been promised is that an announcement of the ‘preferred option sites’ will be made by 30 October 2014 but how these decisions will be arrived at without sufficient Cabinet meetings is of concern.

TBAG are paying great attention to the ongoing review of national planning legislation as ultimately this filters down to affect planning applications at a local level. Changes to the Government’s General Permitted Development Order were approved on 6 April but notably it made no reference to exempting the Green Belt. Through our membership of NORA and the LGBC, TBAG have expressed their concerns that the Government appear to be ignoring their promises to protect the Green Belt.

Also of national planning importance was Greg Mulholland MP’s Ten Minute Rule Bill in the House of Commons on 30 April which has cross-party support. See http://www.bbc.co.uk/democracylive/house-of-commons-27222497. Mr Mulholland is rightly critical of some aspects of the NPPF and seeks changes.  He explains how the NPPF at present is proving to put the wishes of developers over those of the local communities (fully ignoring ‘Localism’), especially when it comes to building on green field and Green Belt sites in preference to brown field sites. This is the most encouraging thing we have seen or heard for a long while. The proposed bill was voted forward for a second reading on 6th June.

Oak Hill Farm EPF/2659/13: Perimeter fencing including adjacent agricultural field – refused by Planning East. Another similar application EPF/0670/14 submitted to which TBAG have again objected. Recommendations by EFDC for ‘the way forward’ to the original application have not been followed. TBAG’s objection is on grounds of causing harmful impact on the landscape character and openness of the Green Belt.

Tennis Club EPF/2610/13 and EPF/2611/13: To light two tennis courts – withdrawn. Planning East refused the remaining application.

Lilicroft, Abridge Road, EPF/2479/13: Certificate of Lawful Development – objected to on the grounds of it amounting to a new dwelling in the Green Belt without very special circumstances. The application was approved under delegated powers.

Ripley Grange EPF/2036/13: TBAG spoke at the DDCC meeting in February 2014 and the application for an ‘eco’ house was again refused.

Blunts Farm EPF/0382/14: Prior Notification for an Agricultural Building for machinery storage. Refused.

Land adjacent to Gun Cottage EPF/0255/14: Conversion of stable to dwelling – refused by Planning East.

Theydon Bois Action Group www.theydonbois-actiongroup.co.uk

Protecting the Village of Theydon Bois

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