A prestige redevelopment of an "eyesore" Green Belt site has been blocked by councillors worried over opening the floodgates to similar schemes.

Councillors on Brentwood Council's Planning Development Control Panel took the painful decision to refuse the proposals to build 44 luxury homes on the problem Thoby Priory site in Mountnessing despite calls from the Parish Council to give it the green light.

The multi-million pound application is a joint venture between building giants Countryside Residential and Crest Nicolson, who want to clear up the contaminated site for housing.

Although it is in the Green Belt and includes a scheduled ancient monument at the moment it provides a home for a car breakers yard, a vehicle storage and spares centre, a joinery yard, a stud farm plus a caravan and scaffolding storage site.

Council leader Cllr Vicky Cook said: "I am very conscious that we need to be very careful and when this site comes forward for some kind of redevelopment it is done in a manner which does not open the floodgates."

According to planning guidelines the applicant had to show there are "very special circumstances" to break Green Belt regulations.

Countryside's regional manager, Chris Cooke, said the improvements to the area outweighed the potential negative impact, while rejecting the application would see industrial activities continue.

He said: "I hope you will take a brave step and approve residential development as more appropriate."

Chairman of the parish council, David Gottesmann, pleaded for special consideration: "This is anything, but beautiful. It is probably the ugliest piece of land in the whole borough. We have to take that as our starting point.

"The only realistic way of redeveloping the site is residential as it will generate the money to get rid of the pollution, the eye sore appearance and the other problems."

Deputy council leader, Cllr Charles Myers, said: "Obviously something needs to be done here, but this proposal has quite a few problems with it and the applicant can come back and discuss it with officers to see if there is a way forward."

Published Monday, June 2, 2003

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