However the full scale of the 1,300-home development on Metropolitan Green Belt land still needs approval from councillors in Havering, reports Nick Clark, Local Democracy Reporter
Plans to build almost 1,300 homes on Crowlands Heath Golf Course have moved forward after being approved by councillors in Barking and Dagenham.
The council’s planning committee voted to grant planning approval to a section of the development in Rush Green. Councillors in Havering borough, where the majority of the homes will be, have yet to consider the plans.
Barking and Dagenham’s Labour committee chair Muhammad Saleem, said the new housing would help give people who need homes in the borough “a roof over their head”.
However, Reform UK councillor Ben Suter said approving the development was “one of the worst decisions this planning committee has ever made”.
Property developer Homes for Life wants to build 1,298 flats on the golf course along with a community centre, supermarket, outdoor sports courts and a play area.
Of these, 57% of habitable rooms would be for social rent and 43% for ‘key workers’ – mostly NHS staff.
While Barking and Dagenham Council owns the golf course after buying it in March, most of it is in the borough of Havering. Council leaders agreed in March to sell the golf course to Homes for Life, provided the development gets planning permission.
Councillors considered whether to approve the 300 homes on the Dagenham side of the development at a planning committee yesterday (Wednesday 14th).
Town hall planning officers employed by Be First Regeneration Ltd – a developer and consultancy wholly-owned by the council – recommended that councillors vote to approve the scheme.
They said the project would “deliver several key benefits, including 100% affordable housing”, outweighing the harm of building on the golf course, which is designated as protected land within the Metropolitan Green Belt.
Be First planning officer Harrison Depczysnki said the land should be considered “grey belt” – previously developed Green Belt land – as it had previously been a quarry and then a landfill site until the 1990s.
Homes for Life’s planning consultant – which is also Be First – asked the committee to consider the benefits of the new homes.
Consultant Emma Thorpe said: “They’ll make a real difference to the lives of families, being at the affordable prices they’ll be set at.
“This is a really significant number of homes to be delivered at a time when housing needs only continue to grow and there’s unprecedented demand for affordable places to live.”
Cllr Suter, who represents Eastbrook and Rush Green ward, where the development will be, asked the committee to refuse the plans.
He said the amount of people living in the new development would put more pressure on local NHS services and parking spaces, and close the gap between Dagenham and Havering.
He said although housing “is really important to me”, the development was “not suitable” for Dagenham.
Labour councillor and committee member Ingrid Robinson also criticised the amount of parking spaces included in the development.
There would be 70 parking spaces in total, of which 60 would be for residents, including 13 disabled bays.
Cllr Robinson said: “We need more car parking spaces. There’s no way you can get around without a car.”
Planning officers said Transport for London had asked for the development to have as few parking spaces as possible to encourage walking, cycling and use of public transport.
They also said the NHS had been consulted, and requested just over £1m from the developer towards health infrastructure in Romford.
The committee voted to approve the scheme, with Labour councillors Saleem, Robinson, Alison Cormack and Edna Fergus in favour.
Reform councillors Alexandra Arnautu and Billy Edmunds, and Green councillor Faruk Choudhury, voted against.
Reform-controlled Havering Council will still need to grant planning permission for the part of the development on its side of the boundary before construction can begin.
Depczysnki noted that the Greater London Authority has the power to intervene and make the decision itself if it chooses.
