30 Homes Adjacent to Great Tey Approved by Colchester City Council
Reserved Matters planning approval from Colchester City Council for 30 dwellings and 1 hectare of open space adjacent to Great Tey village in rural Essex.
PLANNING APPROVALSCOLCHESTERESSEX
Andrew Ransome
7/18/20262 min read
In 2023, Colchester City Council's Planning Committee approved planning permission for 30 dwellings and 1 hectare of public open space on a greenfield site adjacent to the village of Great Tey in rural Essex.
The application attracted local opposition, but I put forward a strong design approach — rooted in a detailed analysis of the village's character and context — that the Council supported.
Reserved Matters Approval for 30 Dwellings Granted by Colchester
Planning permission was approved at Colchester City Council's Planning Committee for 30 dwellings and 1 hectare of public open space on land adjacent to Great Tey village in rural Essex.
Despite some local opposition, the application was supported by the Council on the strength of the design case and the wider planning benefits delivered by the scheme.
The design was shaped from the outset by a detailed contextual analysis of Great Tey and the surrounding villages.
The aim was to create a development that felt as though it belonged to this part of Essex — not a generic housing scheme that could have been placed anywhere.
The approach was guided by a set of clear principles.
Density was varied to reflect the settlement edge character: more spacious plots at the perimeter, transitioning to a closer grain towards the existing village.
Each dwelling was given a high degree of variation and informality in terms of house type, materials and form — mirroring the organic, incremental growth of a historic village rather than the regularity of a modern estate.
Open space was integrated throughout the site and designed to connect with the existing recreational spaces within the village.
New pedestrian and cycle routes were created, with a specific emphasis on safe and convenient connections to the local primary school and village facilities.
Leisure walking routes were provided for dog walkers and recreational use.
The scheme also delivers affordable housing to address local need and meets all adopted parking standards.
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If you are promoting a residential site on the edge of a village, I can provide planning input from strategy through to consent. Contact me to discuss your project.
Andrew Ransome MRTPI - Email: andrew@andrewransome.co.uk
About me
Andrew Ransome is a Planning Director and a Chartered Member of the Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI), with more than two decades of experience in town planning.
He specialises in delivering strategic planning solutions for complex developments across both rural and urban environments, helping clients navigate planning challenges and unlock development opportunities. Connect with Andrew on Linkedin.
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