A PLAN to build nine new flats on a disused car park in Corringham has been approved after Thurrock Council ruled the site qualifies as “grey belt” under updated national planning rules reports the Local Democracy Reporter.
The outline application for land next to Tindall Hall in Herd Lane has been given the go ahead by planning officers.
The plot, currently an area of hardstanding previously used for off street parking, sits within the Metropolitan Green Belt.
However, planning officers concluded the land did not strongly contribute to green belt purposes and therefore met newly introduced criteria for grey belt development.
Revisions to the National Planning Policy Framework in 2025 allow some green belt sites to be reclassified where they are previously developed or offer limited contribution to preventing sprawl or protecting historic settings.
Officers found the Herd Lane site was surrounded by existing development on three sides and bordered Cobblers Mede Lake to the south, meaning it no longer served the function of preventing encroachment into open countryside.
In their report, planners also highlighted Thurrock’s acute housing shortage, with the council able to demonstrate only a year’s housing land supply—well below the government’s five year requirement.
They said the nine flats would make “a small but positive contribution” to meeting local need.
Drawings show a two storey block with an additional flat in the roof space, communal garden areas and 14 parking spaces.
While detailed design, access, layout and landscaping will be decided at a later stage, officers said the plans demonstrated the site could accommodate the development without harming neighbours or the nearby Grade II-listed Thatched Cottage.
No objections were raised by highways, Essex Police, environmental health, or the council’s heritage adviser, although several conditions were attached.
These include a full construction management plan, contamination assessment, renewable energy measures, cycle storage, electric vehicle charging points, and a landscape strategy incorporating biodiversity enhancements.
