The wording of the site allocation policy should therefore be amended as follows:
"5.5 ha of *additional* employment floorspace (principally use classes B1, B2, B8 and any associated employment generating sui generis uses). Any planning application shall include elements of landscaping to improve visual amenity".

We write in response to the consultation currently being undertaken by Brentwood Borough Council (BBC) in relation to the Draft Local Plan Pre-Submission Document (February 2019). We write on behalf of our client, MM Properties (London) Ltd. who control the largest part of the site allocation, to strongly support the allocation of the above site as an employment site for the reasons set out within this letter.
As a general comment, we note that the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) requires all Local Plans to apply the presumption in favour of sustainable development (para 11). It states that local planning authorities should positively seek opportunities to meet the development needs of their area and Local Plans should meet objectively assessed needs with sufficient flexibility to adapt to rapid change. They should be consistent with the principles and policies of the NPPF and should be aspirational but realistic.
Paragraph 35 of the NPPF requires Local Plans to be sound and in order to meet this requirement they should be:
Positively Prepared - be based on objectively assessed development requirements, consistent with achieving sustainable development.
Justified - be the most appropriate strategy based on proportionate evidence.
Effective - be deliverable over its period and based on effective joint working.
Consistent with National Policy - enable the delivery of sustainable development in accordance with the policies of the NPPF.
As a general comment, we support the consultation exercise that is being held and the allocations of this site in order to meet the employment needs of the Borough.
Draft Local Plan Pre-Submission Version - Site Ref. E13
The site is allocated as part of Site Reference E13 'Land at East Horndon Hall' in the Draft Local Plan Pre-Submission Version. The allocation site developable area is identified as being 5.5ha (but please see the concluding paragraphs 'Site Specific Allocation' p6 & p7 hereof) and provides opportunity for an employment site (principally use classes B1, B2, B8 and any associated employment generating sui generis uses). Development of the site is identified as being deliverable in the next 1 to 5 years.
The allocation site is located to the south of the A127 (Southend Arterial Road); is bounded to the east by the embankment of the Halfway House roundabout / interchange and A128 (Tilbury Road) and on the west by the old Brentwood to Tilbury Road.
The allocation site and surrounding land is currently designated as Green Belt land, albeit the northern part of the site is in use by existing commercial operations (Class B Use). Circa. 40% of the existing allocation site area comprises previously developed land. The site is well screened from the surrounding highways by existing embankments and established trees and vegetation along its boundaries.
The allocation site does not lie within a Conservation Area. The site is located in Flood Zone 1.
The land within our clients control comprises circa 8.7ha of the wider allocation site which lies to the west of East Horndon Hall and East Horndon Hall Cottages and to the north of the garden centre. This site is subject to a planning application currently under consideration by the Council (LPA Ref. 19/00315/OUT) and is shown on the enclosed Illustrative Masterplan (1232-P-102 Rev B).
Background
We have engaged with the emerging Brentwood Local Plan throughout its preparation. In March 2016 we submitted representations on behalf of our client in response to the Draft Local Plan. The proposed site allocations at that time failed to consider land at East Horndon Hall as part of the Council's preferred employment land site allocations. Our representations set out reasons why this approach to the site was not appropriate and why additional employment land was required in the Borough to meet existing and future employment requirements.
As a result, the site was allocated for redevelopment to provide a new employment site for the borough in the Brentwood Local Plan: Preferred Site Allocations (2018). We submitted representations on behalf of our client in March 2018, in support of the allocation of land at East Horndon Hall (E13) as a new employment site.
An application has been submitted for the redevelopment of the site within our clients control for; outline planning application (with all matters reserved except for access) for the redevelopment of the site comprising demolition of all buildings; construction of new buildings providing 35,000sqm of Class B1b, B1c, B2 and B8 floorspace and 250sqm of Class A3 floorspace, together with associated vehicle parking, loading, cycle parking and infrastructure". This application should be determined by June 2019 and follows the publication of the Regulation 19 version of the Local Plan. This application demonstrates the deliverability of the majority of the allocation site. Our client fully supports the wider allocation in addition to the land that forms part of the application.
Representations
Green Belt Release
The allocation site is designated as Green Belt in the Brentwood Borough Council Local Plan that is due to be replaced. Paragraph 136 of the NPPF states Green Belt boundaries should only be altered where exceptional circumstances are fully evidenced and justified, through the preparation of local plans. The Council have prepared a Green Belt Study prepared by Crestwood (January 2018) which forms part of the Local Plan Evidence Base. The study reports that 89% of the Borough is currently designated as Green Belt and as such, allocating land currently designated as Green Belt needs is unavoidable in order to meet the development needs of the Borough in respect of both housing and employment requirements.
The Part III Green Belt Study concludes that the allocation site makes a moderate contribution to the Green Belt. However, it is our submission that considering the site is not used for recreation, there is no public access, it is wholly contained by the A128/A127 and Old Tilbury Road and a significant portion of it is already in intensive commercial use that the site only makes a very limited contribution to the Green Belt.
In assessing whether the release of the allocation site from the Green Belt would conflict with the five general objectives of the Green Belt, the following should be considered:
To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built up areas;
The Council's Green Belt Study, as referred to above, concludes that the site is not adjacent to, or would only be weakly associated with, existing large built-up areas. The site is completely contained and therefore the development of the site will not lead to unrestricted sprawl of large built up areas. There are strong boundaries to all sides of the site, including the A127, A128 and Old Tilbury Road. The closest built up area is West Horndon which is separated from the site by 1km of open fields, which are also designated Green Belt and therefore the development of the allocated site will not lead to coalescence or urban sprawl. Furthermore, a significant proportion of the site area (c. 40%) is considered to comprise previously developed land (brownfield land) and therefore any encroachment into the countryside will be minimal.
To prevent neighbouring town merging into one another;
The Council's Green Belt Study concludes that development of the site would not narrow the gap between towns nor would it result in visual or physical merging and that significant countryside gaps exist between towns. The surrounding Green Belt land will prevent West Horndon and the application site from merging. The nearest settlements are West Horndon located to the south west and Laindon to the East. The site is bound on all sides by highway and there are substantial areas of open space in between, which is designated as Green Belt. Regardless of how proposals evolve for possible development at Dunton Garden Village, the application site will not contribute to any sense of coalescence between the settlements in the future.
To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;
The Council's Green Belt Study considered the site to comprise mixed function, and that countryside functions are provided alongside other land uses. It is agreed that the application site has limited function as open countryside. It is completely enclosed with no purposeful public access and contributes little to the rural landscape character or quality. Quite the opposite. There is a footpath to the south of the site which is unaffected by the proposals. The contained nature of the site and existing previously developed land to the north of the site means that the prevailing open character of the wider countryside will not be materially altered.
To preserve the setting and special character of historic towns;
The Council's Green Belt Study acknowledges that the site is not adjacent to or is unlikely to affect the setting of an Historic Town. Furthermore the site is not located within or adjacent to a Conservation Area. It is agreed that there is no historic settlement in the immediate surrounding area which would be affected by the application proposal.
To assist in urban regeneration by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.
The northern part of the site is occupied by commercial buildings and activities and therefore the application proposals will recycle this brownfield land in terms of urban regeneration and as part of the wider redevelopment of the site. The site has been allocated in the emerging Local Plan to accommodate a significant amount of new employment land, and therefore accords with the strategic priorities of the Borough.
Considering the above, the proposed allocation of the site (E13) for employment use would not lead to unrestricted sprawl and the application illustrative Masterplan demonstrates that the use of an appropriate design and a sensitive landscape strategy will ensure that the site is visually and physically well contained, thus limiting the impact on the openness of the Green Belt.
In assessing whether exceptional circumstances exist for releasing the allocation site from the Green belt through the Local Plan, the following should be considered:
Provision of vital employment land which will assist in addressing the planned and existing undersupply of employment land in the short and medium term, as envisaged in the Pre-Submission Version of the emerging Local Development Plan;
Provision of employment land which will increase the choice of location, type and size of units for existing and future businesses in the Borough, and address an existing and planned lack of choice in the Borough;
Provision of employment land which will provide a significant number of new jobs (up to 1,500 new jobs); Provision of employment land which will assist in the release of some existing employment sites for housing, and therefore assist in bridging the deficit of housing land provisions across the Borough;
Provision of an alternative, accessible location for existing businesses relocating from the West Horndon Industrial Estate, which has a draft allocation for circa. 500 new homes in the Regulation 19 Local Plan and facilitating the preservation of these businesses within the Borough; and
Provision for industrial employment users, for which there is currently no vacant supply in the Borough, meaning that sector will stagnate if not accommodated in the short term.
In addition to the foregoing factors that cumulatively constitute exceptional circumstances, the following are supporting factors:
Around 68% of the allocation site is the subject of a planning application and of that application site some 40% is previously developed.
The existing uses on the northern part of the allocation site have developed in an unplanned manner which will be redeveloped in terms of acceptable planning criteria as part of the planning proposal referred to herein proposals;
The allocation site does not make a significant contribution to the Green Belt;
A number of occupiers have been identified for that portion of the site within our clients control and negotiations are progressing, which will cement the early delivery of that project;
The proposal for the site within our Client's control will remove almost all of the current level of HGV movements through West Horndon by providing a high-quality industrial scheme, close to and accessible directly from the A127 junction; and
The installation of SUDS will alleviate existing surface water flooding issues on that part of the site (the garden centre to the south) adjoining land in the control of our client and on roads (Old Tilbury Road to the west).
Considering the above, the proposed release of the site from the Green Belt for the purposes of employment use is entirely appropriate and necessary to achieve the strategic priority of the Council to accommodate new employment land and is therefore wholly supported. The proposed release of the site is also considered to comply with the principles for protecting the Green Belt set out in Section 13 of the NPPF.
Employment Demand
The Council have prepared an updated Economic Future Report (January 2018) (EFR) to support the emerging Local Plan. This takes into account the proposed employment site allocations and whether the employment floorspace provided through the emerging Local Plan is sufficient to meet future demand. The EFR concludes that "the new employment allocations are estimated to provide enough land to meet additional growth needs under all scenarios considered".
The East Horndon employment site makes a significant contribution to the provision of new employment floorspace in the Borough, and is one of the largest employment site allocations (5.5ha):
The Brentwood Enterprise Park which has an area of 25.9ha, equating to 54.5% of all new employment land allocated and should the delivery of this site coming forward falter, and there are doubts over the delivery thereof, the Council's future employment land supply would be significantly diminished. The East Horndon Hall site therefore makes a doubly important contribution to the Council's forecast supply of industrial floorspace and there are no doubts over the delivery of the greater portion of this site.
Furthermore, the EFR states the Council "may need to bring forward other allocated employment sites to fill the supply gap that could arise if Brentwood Enterprise Park does take time to deliver". This demonstrates the increased importance of delivering other key employment allocations, including the site, E13, at East Horndon Hall. As stated the majority of the site is within our clients control and therefore considered to be readily available and deliverable in the short term.
The ERF also acknowledges the important contribution that the East Horndon site will make to provide a supply of much needed employment land to address the shortage of industrial premises in Brentwood as a result of the proposed reallocation of West Horndon Industrial Estate for housing purposes, which will result in the loss of c. 46% of the Borough's existing supply of industrial/employment land.
The EFR states that the East Horndon employment allocation has indicative capacity to provide 610 jobs. Our client considers that the proposals will actually provide floorspace that could create up to 1,500 new jobs, based on the mix of uses proposed.
Site Specific Allocation
We strongly support the allocation of Site Allocation Ref. E13 'Land at East Horndon Hall' for employment use. The specific requirements for the redevelopment of the site are set out in draft Policy E13 and we are supportive of the proposed development principles, including access provided via Old Tilbury Road, provision for improved walking and cycling connections within the site and to the wider area and an opportunity by way of sensitive planning and landscaping to preserve the setting of nearby listed building (East Horndon Hall itself) which are a key part of the development proposals of our client on the greater portion of the site
In terms of the amount of development on the site, the draft allocation states that redevelopment of the site could provide 5.5ha of employment land (principally use classes B1, B2, B8 and any associated employment generating sui generis uses). However, the red line site plan to accompany the allocation encompasses the whole site including; East Horndon Hall in the north western corner of the site, the cottages along the western boundary of the site and the Town and Country Nursery to the south of the site, with a total gross area of 12.9ha, as shown on the plan extract below:
From the draft wording of the proposed site allocation is not clear which part of the site the 5.5ha of employment land relates and whether this comprises additional employment land or whether it should include existing business uses within the red line area above, such as the Town and Country Nursery.
We consider that the intention of the LPA is that this is 5.5ha of additional new employment floorspace, to meet the demand for such space as set out in the EFR (2018) and take account of the existing business uses on the site. The wording of the site allocation should therefore be amended as follows:
"5.5 ha of additional employment floorspace (principally use classes B1, B2, B8 and any associated employment generating sui generis uses). Any planning application shall include elements of landscaping to improve visual amenity".
Moreover, the extent of the developable area and floorspace should include the existing garden centre and East Horndon Hall, previously developed sites, and the additional floorspace. Clearly East Horndon Cottages might be excluded but that is not significant in the overall scheme of things.
Summary
The proposed release of the site from the Green Belt for the purposes of employment use is entirely appropriate and necessary to achieve the strategic priority of the Council to accommodate new employment land. The site is considered to be appropriate for release from its current greenbelt designation, in line with the tests set out in the NPPF, and will contribute to the supply of employment land required in the borough over the plan period. Furthermore, the vast majority of the site is under our client's control and is therefore considered to be immediately available and deliverable.
We therefore strongly support the allocation of Site Allocation Ref. E13 'Land at East Horndon Hall' for employment use.
We look forward to confirmation of receipt of these representations. Should the examination proceed following this Regulation 19 consultation, we reserve the right to appear at the Examination in Public should we wish to.
Please feel free to contact me or my colleague Lucy Aspden if you have any queries or would like to discuss any of the contents of this letter.
Yours faithfully
Catherine Williams
Associate Director