- Decision
- refused, 19 August 2026
- Decided by
- Council planning committee: Basildon Planning Committee (unanimous 7-0, in line with officer recommendation; non-determination appeal lodged)
- Authority
- Basildon (East of England)
- Application reference
- 24/01047/OUT
- Procedure
- committee
- Development
- Outline, up to 11 dwellings, no affordable housing
- Homes
- 11
- Site context
- green belt, settlement edge
- Green Belt
- Yes (grey belt accepted)
- Housing land supply
- 2.05 years
- Framework applied
- August 2026 NPPF
- Determinative policies
- GB7(1)(g)(iv), GB8(1)(a), GB6(2)
- Development plan policies
- Basildon Saved Policies BAS GB1
- Main issues
- Golden Rules for small-major scheme; VSC
Summary
Eleven market houses on a grey belt paddock at Billericay's edge. Grey belt, need and location limbs all passed. The scheme failed only the Golden Rules limb because it offered no affordable housing and no viability case. That made it inappropriate, and the committee unanimously held that an 11-home market benefit did not amount to VSC.
Issues and findings
- Grey belt: PASS. "the site occupies a contained location immediately adjoining the settlement edge … moderately contributes to this purpose" (Report ¶5.1.16). Purpose (b) is moderate (¶5.1.18).
- Golden Rules: FAIL. "the proposal constitutes major residential development within the Green Belt but fails to provide any affordable housing … with a default affordable housing requirement of 50% … unsupported by viability evidence" (¶1.4). "As all four criteria of paragraph 155 must be met … the proposal remains inappropriate development" (¶1.5).
- VSC: not shown. "the contribution is considered limited and is further diminished by the absence of any affordable housing provision" (¶1.8).
What made the difference
The number of homes: 11 crosses the 10-dwelling major threshold, so GB8 applies. A 9-home version on the same land would have passed GB7(1)(g) without affordable housing. Unresolved BNG added to the refusal.
Transferable points
- For a major scheme on grey belt land, failing GB8 by offering no affordable housing and no viability case makes the scheme inappropriate. A small market scheme then struggles to show VSC, even at a 2.05-year supply (Report ¶1.4–1.8).
- Contrast cheshireeast-25-2053-FUL, where GB8 failure for a care home was overcome by VSC.
Policy findings
Policy codes are those of the National Planning Policy Framework (August 2026) unless a development plan is named.
| Policy | Finding | Weight | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| AnnexB:grey-belt | pass | paddock adjoining southern edge of Billericay; moderate on (a) and (b); 200-dwelling permission opposite | |
| GB7(1)(g)(ii) | pass | supply shortfall | |
| GB7(1)(g)(iii) | pass | immediately adjacent to settlement; school c.400 m | |
| GB7(1)(g)(iv) | fail | 11 dwellings = major; zero affordable vs 50% default; no viability evidence | |
| GB6(2) | fail | substantial | moderate harm to openness; 11 market homes 'limited' benefit, 'further diminished by the absence of any affordable housing' |
Key facts
- 11 dwellings — just over the major threshold, triggering Golden Rules
- No affordable housing and no viability assessment
- BNG holding objection unresolved
- Supply 2.05 years
Related decisions
Sources
This note is one of the decisions behind the NPPF 2026 Navigator, which shows how each Framework test has been applied across all the decisions in the database. Also available as Markdown.