Green Belt Replacement Dwelling Approved in Basildon

In 2024, I acted as planning consultant in a successful appeal at Basildon Borough Council, securing permission to demolish an existing residential mobile home and erect a replacement permanent dwelling at Crays Hill Road, Billericay, within the Metropolitan Green Belt.

The Planning Issue

The proposal faced a significant policy hurdle: saved Local Plan Policy BAS GB5 requires that the dwelling being replaced must be a permanent substantial structure with foundations, walls and a slated or tiled roof.

The existing structure was a mobile home and therefore failed this test, meaning the proposal constituted inappropriate Green Belt development.

The key planning issue was therefore whether very special circumstances existed to justify the development.

I built the case around the long-established and permanent nature of the existing residential use.

A Certificate of Lawful Use had been granted in 1993, confirming at least ten years of continuous residential occupation. The mobile home had since been extended with a brick porch, fixed to hardstanding and connected to mains services — all contributing to a high degree of physical permanence.

I also demonstrated that the proposed dwelling would increase the openness of the Green Belt by reducing the overall floor space on the site.

The Inspector agreed that the permanence of the existing occupation and the increase in openness clearly outweighed the harm by reason of inappropriateness, amounting to very special circumstances.

Permission was granted subject to conditions addressing contamination, construction management, parking and surface water drainage.

Planning Appeal Advice

If you have a development project and you have received a planning refusal, contact me for practical advice on whether an appeal is the right option and how to proceed.

Andrew Ransome MRTPI Email: andrew@adpltd.co.uk | Tel: 01206 242070

About me

Andrew Ransome is the planning director at ADP and is a chartered member of the RTPI, with over 22 years of town planning experience.

Andrew has extensive experience offering strategic planning solutions to challenging projects in both rural and urban settings. Follow him on Linkedin.

Planning Appeal Successes

Planning Appeal Information