A second and revised application to replace a farm house and build three new executive size houses on the site of existing agricultural barns at Blunts Farm (EPF/2468/12) was this evening on the Agenda at the Planning East Sub-Committee meeting at Civic Offices in Epping. Surprisingly, the application was recommended for approval by the Planning Case Officer. A planning agent spoke on behalf of the Applicant. There were two speakers in opposition to the application, the Chair of the Theydon Bois Parish Council Planning Committee and a member of the TBAG Committee. Sound and clear arguments were put forward by both objectors to demonstrate how this application was contrary to several paragraphs of planning policy documents both national and local. After due consideration, Councillors unanimously voted to refuse this revised application for a housing development on Metropolitan Green Belt land as being sufficiently contrary to current planning legislation and the inevitable intrusion into the Theydon Bois Dark Sky Policy.
Development Sites “Option D”
You may this week have received a flyer regarding an ‘alternative option’ (“Option D”) for the EFDC Issues and Options consultation on possible development sites in Theydon Bois parish. It has been designed to give the impression that it has been prepared by Epping Forest District Council but we can confirm that this is not the case. Neither has it been circulated by our Parish Council, The Rural Preservation Society or Theydon Bois Action Group. We therefore conclude that it might have been circulated by the landowner(s).
Theydon Bois Action Group make no comment on the contents of the flyer, other than to state that our objective is, as ever, to protect all Metropolitan Green Belt within the Parish of Theydon Bois from inappropriate development.
As our national planning system undergoes radical amendment, we must all be careful to make sure we understand the implications of any actions we take.
Blunts Farm Estate Investigated For Tax Irregularities
Blunts Farm Estate are being investigated for corporation tax irregularities. The first-tier tribunal transcript is now available here.
The original link is offline due to a libel action: Blunts Farm Estate Ltd v Revenue & Customs [2010] UKFTT 469 (TC) (05 October 2010)
Issues and Options Consultation – What happens next?
Villagers may be interested to read the following:
Extract from Report to Local Plan Cabinet Committee (LPCC) – 26 November 2012, Item 6, paragraph 3
The number of representations received was 5625 of which 114 were statutory bodies, 264 landowners, 3158 residents, 2089 group responses. The representations are currently being processed and a decision was made to outsource this piece of work in order to ensure that the timetable for meeting the Local Plan continues on track. As the representations are being indexed the Forward Planning team will be working to analyse the results. The information from the I&Os consultation will be used to inform a series of Member workshops in the new year aimed at EFDC and Town & Parish Members. The programme of workshops is intending to draw out the key themes and preferred options for the district over the new plan period. The output from the workshops will be used to inform the preferred options report for the LPCC and Cabinet in early 2013 that will lead to the preparation of the draft preferred options document for consideration by LPCC. It is currently anticipated that the Preferred Options consultation will take place in the Autumn of 2013.
The full agenda is available here.
It is important that our supporters continue to lobby their District Councillors to make their feelings known about the options likely to impact our village on the three sites under consultation. It is important that our District Councillors know villagers’ stance so they may convey this to Epping Forest District Council on our behalf. This is especially important in the light of the recent Coppice Farm shock decision (Planning East Subcommittee recommendation to the District Development Control Committee to grant planning permission to develop virgin green belt land in Theydon Bois see website for more information) when our District Councillors abstained from voting against the application despite it being contrary to various planning policies both local and national. This was also surprising since TBAG have the unequivocal support of Eleanor Laing MP to protect our green belt (see website for a copy of her letter). Speak or write to your District Councillors to let them know your opinions.
Coppice Farm green belt development
The next hearing of this application is before the District Development Committee Council at the end of January 2013. We shall keep you updated on an exact date as it may be appropriate for TBAG supporters to rally and attend the meeting to show their concern over the determination of this application and the apparent lack of consideration of local and national planning policies that EFDC have in this matter.