A LARGE housing development could be built next to a planned quarry on green belt land in Havering reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
Essex County Council is set to sell the 88-acre site at Rainham Lodge Farm in Upminster to major house builder Taylor Wimpey.
The council’s plans to sell the land comes four years after it evicted the family that had been farming there for over a century.
The county council has said the sale of the freehold will allow for future development and investment of the site, subject to the grant of planning permission.
It adds: “This decision proposes that we maximise the potential for income from land which Essex County Council owns to create a capital receipt for reinvestment into services we deliver to residents.”
It says that while any potential for development is currently highly speculative, there is an element of long-term hope for “strategic scale residential development” subject to the Green Belt boundaries being relaxed.
Essex County Council said: “If the buyer were to secure planning permission for a change of use and/or development of the land, there would be new housing, contributions to infrastructure, and provision of environmental enhancements.”
The land lies adjacent to a site subject to a planning application from Brett Aggregates. If accepted, it could be turned into an extraction site for two million tonnes of sand and gravel.
Local MP, Margaret Mullane, said residents in Essex’s neighbouring Havering will suffer due to the move. She said that if approved it would see significant increases of HGVs between Rainham Lodge Farm and Launders Lane, further adding to the issues already faced by the community in this area.
In a letter of objection, she said: “Given the history of this particular area and the ongoing potential for a public health crisis due to poor air quality, I urge Havering Council to consider this application in full context of its connotations.”
Taylor Wimpey has said the deal is still subject to board approval. If the company wanted to build homes on the site, it would require planning permission from Havering Council.
A Taylor Wimpey spokesperson said: “Any potential purchase of Rainham Lodge Farm is still subject to board approval and legal processes. We are unable to comment further at this time.”
