Representation by Mrs J. Carver (Mrs J. Carver)
- Date submitted
- 24 February 2023
- Submitted by
- Members of the public/businesses
Mrs Carver owns the freehold of (Redacted) , a Grade II listed residential property with ancillary buildings consented for Class E(d) indoor sport, recreation or fitness use, Class E(g)(i) office use and Class B8 storage or distribution uses, set within approximately 20 hectares (50 acres) of grounds comprising landscaped gardens with associated grazing and woodland. It is also her principal residence. The eastern boundary of the property abuts the M25 motorway embankment between St Mary’s Lane to the south and the Shoeburyness railway line to the north. Only minor revisions have been made to the proposals affecting (Redacted) and the scheme will have a significant adverse impact on the amenity and quality of life enjoyed at the property during both the construction and operational stages of the LTC scheme. Important scheme mitigation measures requested in our previous representations have not been addressed, which are considered to be appropriate, reasonable and feasible, and should be incorporated. The road infrastructure, including new carriageways sited 1.5 metres above the existing carriageway, embankments and high retaining walls, would also substantially encroach into the site and create an unsightly outlook when experienced from various parts of the property. This diminished outlook, when combined with higher traffic levels intruding into the property boundary, would result in noise and vibration increases and a reduction in air quality. These significant impacts would singularly and cumulatively, compromise residential amenity and quality of life enjoyed by our client and other occupiers. The proposals would also adversely affect the significance of the Grade II principal and curtilage listed buildings, amounting to ‘substantial harm’ to their setting as designated heritage assets. Consequently, without appropriate mitigation, the scheme would unnecessarily contravene the preservation tests set out in planning policy and legislation. The proposals would also involve the removal of a significant number of established trees, recognised by Defra in the National Forest Inventory. Despite numerous requests, the scheme lacks specific mitigation measures, which need to be incorporated in the DCO as summarised below: - Relocation of the drainage pond and associated compound/ maintenance land to the area to south of St Mary’s Lane; - Reduction of the amount of land used to create the embankment wherever possible; - Provision of an acoustic fence along the full length of the eastern boundary located at the top of the road embankment; - Reinstatement of the former barn to the north-east corner of the site, adjacent to the curtilage listed outbuildings; - Translocation of the existing mature trees and further replacement tree planting along the eastern boundary with semi-mature or mature replacements to replace the mature specimens lost; - Installation of a 2 metre high fence to the western side of the access track at the base of the road embankment needed for maintenance purposes, for security and privacy purposes; and - Provision of a separate access from St Mary’s Lane to the offices and yoga studio that bypasses, or branches off from, the main driveway. Please see LPP letter dated 23/02/23 for full representations.