Developer calls on housing secretary to intervene after two major schemes refused by council

The chair of developer City & Country has urged the secretary of state to intervene after Uttlesford planning committee refused two housing proposals.

The applications for a total of 480 homes across Stansted Mountfitchet and Birchanger in Essex had previously been recommended for approval by planning officers.

However, at a meeting in June, the council resolved to refuse the 300-home Stansted Mountfitchet scheme and 180-dwelling Birchanger scheme, both of which would deliver 50% affordable housing, because they sit on unallocated sites outside the settlement boundary.

The council said approving the developments would go against its plan‑led strategy, which directs new housing to allocated, sustainable locations. As a result, they were considered to conflict with several core policies in the Uttlesford local plan and with the NPPF’s emphasis on delivering homes in appropriate places.

It also said the schemes amount to inappropriate green belt development, although the committee reports note that evidence suggests the sites can be regarded as grey belt.

The council’s principal urban design officer had previously described both schemes as “exemplary and exceptional” and said they were place-specific and landscape-led.

Tim Sargeant, chair of City & Country, said the developer was “extremely disappointed” by the decision.

He added: “We believe the committee’s decision is inconsistent with both local evidence and national planning policy, particularly at a time when councils are being asked to play a central role in addressing the country’s acute housing shortage.

“Last year, Uttlesford delivered just 69 affordable homes; our proposals alone would more than triple that number. At a time when the UK continues to face a housing crisis, decisions such as this will only exacerbate the issue.”

He said that the refusals “raise issues of more than local importance, including the interpretation of recently introduced grey belt policy, the application of the presumption in favour of sustainable development, and the delivery of the Government’s wider housing objectives.”

If the schemes are ultimately approved by the secretary of state, Steve Reed, City & Country will deliver hundreds of one to six-bedroom homes, with half made affordable through below-market rents and shared ownership.

The plans also comprise new pedestrian and cycle routes and a community orchard.