Early plans for 270 homes next to Pitsea railway station

A request for a screening opinion for the development, which could consist of 270 homes in eight buildings up to eight-storeys high next to Pitsea station, has been submitted to Basildon Council.

Just south of the site is an industrial park and waste centre, while to the east sits the station car park.

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“This is yet another example of the kind of large-scale developments we will firm’s try and sneak through in Basildon if we cannot get a new local plan sorted", councillor Kerry Smith said.

“In all fairness, this land has been long forgotten and has become a bit of a wasteland, but there would definitely need to be major investment in local infrastructure to make way for any development of that size, if an application to build is eventually submitted.”

This latest application is a request for a screening opinion, a pre-application submission made by developers to see if their proposals need an environmental assessment to evaluate their impact on the area.

It says eight new buildings could be built in the site, reaching up to eight storeys tall, with a maximum height of 26.5 metres.

The request also includes plans for a car park for the development, as well as landscaping.

Since the request has been validated by the council, meaning it has been made public on the council’s planning website, a planning application is likely to be made by the applicants in the future.

The land north of Terminus Drive, off Pitsea Hall Lane, was previously given permission to be converted to a haulage yard after a successful appeal by K E Kent Transport in 2014, the same applicant listed in these latest plans.

At the time, the planning inspectorate disagreed with the council’s fears a haulage yard would result in more land having to be allocated for employment uses elsewhere in the borough in its since withdrawn local plan.

A report said: “The council expressed concern that the proposal could lead to a requirement for a greater amount of green field land to be allocated, including land within the green belt.”