# Land south of London Road, Crays Hill, Billericay

- **Decision:** refused, 19 August 2026
- **Decided by:** Council planning committee: Basildon Planning Committee (minded-to decision for non-determination appeal; 4-2)
- **Authority:** Basildon (East of England)
- **Application reference:** 25/01190/OUT
- **Procedure:** committee
- **Development:** Outline, up to 56 dwellings (50% affordable), SuDS, access from London Road (A129)
- **Homes:** 56
- **Site context:** green-belt, settlement-edge
- **Green Belt:** yes (grey belt rejected)
- **Housing land supply (years):** 2.05
- **Framework applied:** August 2026 NPPF
- **Determinative policies:** GB6(2), AnnexB:grey-belt
- **Development plan policies:** Basildon Saved Policies BAS GB1
- **Main issues:** grey belt purposes (a)/(b), VSC, coalescence
- **Tags:** overturned-officer-rec, non-determination, grey-belt-rejected, vsc-not-shown, coalescence, housing-shortfall, affordable-led, report-written-under-2024

## Summary
56 homes (50% affordable) on farmland between Crays Hill and Wickford. Officers agreed it was not grey belt, as the parcel is strong on purposes (a) and (b), but recommended approval on VSC. Members resolved 4-2 that they would have refused, citing coalescence and the cumulative effect of London Road development.

## Issues and findings
- **Grey belt: FAIL.** "The parcel is located within a moderate gap between the towns of Billericay and Wickford, which are separated by approximately 2.3km … the site forms a substantial component of the wider gap … Development of the parcel would be likely to have a significant adverse effect on the visual separation" (Report ¶5.2.19–5.2.20). On purpose (a), "the reduction or loss of separation between Wickford and Crays Hill would lead to Crays Hill becoming more closely integrated with the larger built-up area" (¶5.2.17–5.2.18).
- **VSC.** Officers: "Very Special Circumstances exist and … clearly outweigh the identified Green Belt harm" (¶1.5). Members: not shown (Minutes item 7).

## What made the difference
The parcel scored strongly on two grey belt purposes in the Council's own study, so the scheme had to rely on VSC, where members have broad discretion. A town-to-town gap under about 2.5 km with weak physical features is the classic purpose (b) "strong" profile.

## Transferable points
- A roughly 2.3 km town-to-town gap without strong defining features, where the site is a "substantial component", was treated as a strong contribution to purpose (b) (Report ¶5.2.19).

## Policy findings
- **AnnexB:grey-belt: fail.** LUC 2025 parcel OA12 strong on (a) and (b) — Billericay–Wickford gap c.2.3 km, lacks strong features; Crays Hill would be absorbed into Wickford
- **GB6(2): fail (substantial weight).** officers found VSC (1.96/2.05-year supply, 28 affordable, bus enhancements, speed limit reduction, c.£320k contributions); members did not

## Key facts
- 6.9 ha agricultural land between Crays Hill and Wickford
- Officers attached "significant" (not substantial) weight to Green Belt harm in the executive summary
- Members discussed cumulative London Road development, coalescence, wastewater

## Sources
- https://www.basildonmeetings.info/documents/s158854/2501190OUT.pdf
- https://www.basildonmeetings.info/documents/g9509/Public%20minutes%2019th-Aug-2026%2019.00%20Planning%20Committee.pdf?T=11

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Source: https://planningdistilled.org/research/england/nppf-navigator/decisions/basildon-25-01190-OUT.html

A summary of a public planning decision, written from the officer report. Not legal advice. © Planning Distilled. Released under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/): share and adapt freely, with credit to Planning Distilled. Quotations from decision letters, plans and the Framework remain the copyright of their publishers.