A council has agreed to relax regulations and allow four new homes in the green belt to get rid of an eyesore commercial site.

Thurrock Council's development control committee granted planning permission for the four chalet-style houses at Lower Dunton Road, Horndon-on-the-Hill.

The agreement carried a condition that the commercial uses of the site - some of them unauthorised - should stop.

A planning department report to the committee said that a bungalow, named Malvina, had recently been knocked down opening the view to the commercial operations.

It said: "There is lawful use of an area of land for car storage but the precise boundaries are unclear.

"This area and a good deal of the surrounding area has been roughly surfaced and has become very unsightly."

There are also a number of unsightly buildings including a workshop built out of blocks, a timber-framed building used for storage, stables used for storage and an office.

The report continued: "The council ought to encourage the removal of the non-conforming car storage with all its problems.

"This would involve a relaxation of the normally strictly-applied green belt restrictions but it is considered that the harm caused by four dwellings would be clearly outweighed by the complete removal of unsightly buildings, the removal of traffic associated with the site and the provision of landscaping."

Acting chairman of the committee, Arthur Clarke, moved also that a number of trees and shrubs on the southern boundary of the site should be retained.

He added: "With that extra condition I am happy to recommend approval."

Published Friday, January 24, 2003

Brought to you by the Evening Echo