If permitted, Alexander House in Alexander Lane could be knocked down and eight new homes built in its place, alongside the conversion of an existing building to form a smaller home on the same site.
The development is on a site that has been earmarked in Brentwood Borough Council’s Local Plan for 825 homes.
Four developers – Croudace Homes, Redrow Homes, Countryside Properties, and Stonebond Properties – all have house-building projects in the area.
Besides the almost 350 homes being built between Countryside and Redrow, Croudace has permission for 344 homes and a new primary school, while Stonebond has permission for 38 new houses.
A statement included in a planning application said: “In conclusion, the proposed development aims to deliver high-quality family homes that respect the existing character of Shenfield while creating a high-quality landscape-led development.
“The scheme maintains the majority of existing trees and hedgerows, while also introducing additional planting to enhance the landscape and support biodiversity.”
Brentwood Council’s local housing plan actually allocated as many as 825 homes for this area, although ultimately, slightly fewer than this have been given permission.
The Shenfield developments are a significant part of the council’s path to delivering its housing quota —three years ago, the council signed off on its Local Plan, which designated where a total of 7,146 homes would be built in the borough by 2033.
Since Labour took over the government, house-building quotas have increased from 511 to 724 homes per year.
Most of that quota has already been designated through completed or ongoing developments, but the remaining requirement will have to be built across a number of sites in the borough, such as Shenfield and a development at Dunton Hills near West Horndon, where it is anticipated that 1,650 homes will be built in the next 11 years.
Other major allocations include 300 homes in William Hunter Way and 200 in the Brentwood railway station car park.
