It comes after an application appeared on Havering Council’s planning portal last month, seeking a screening opinion for the potential development on land just off Benets Road.
The request, made by environmental consultants Wardell Armstrong LLP, is used to establish whether an environmental impact assessment (EIA) is required prior to applicants submitting a planning application.
By requesting a screening opinion, the council can assess if a development is likely to have a significant impact/s on the environment that would necessitate a full EIA.
The screening opinion report was issued on September 11, written by principal planning officer, Andrew Thornley, and signed by strategic applications team leader Andrew Goate.
In the 16-page document, the council confirms that the proposed 21.5 hectare site “falls wholly within the green belt”, which sets in place stringent restrictions to protect the land and prevent urban sprawl.
The site also falls within the Minerals Safeguarding Area and is designated as an Archaeological Priority Area (APA) with prehistoric potential.
It has been highlighted by the council that “there have been several hundred representations made against this screening opinion”, the majority of which relate to objections to a planning application which has not, as yet, been submitted.
There is no statutory requirement that applicants for a screening opinion need to notify or consult on the request.
Public opinion and comment would be sought however, if in future a planning application is submitted.
According to the council, a number of representations made in response to the request for screening have directly requested for the proposal to be screened in, seeking an environmental statement to be submitted with any future application.
It has been concluded that the outlined prospective development as referred to as the subject of the screening opinion does not require an environmental statement.
Several reasons were given justifying this conclusion, including the layout and height of the development.
The council found that based on these factors, alongside the proposal seeking to retain areas of undeveloped land as public open space, future developments would likely appear “as a ‘natural extension” closer to existing properties in the area.
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The council said: “The site does not fall within any specific long, medium or short-range views which should be protected from development […]
“As such, recognising that the proposal would not significantly alter the landscape of the wider area, this would not trigger the need for an EIA as the impacts would only be felt at a local level.
“If a planning application is submitted in the future, then that application would go through the normal notification procedures which would include letters to neighbouring properties, site notices, and press notices in a local newspaper.
“At that stage, the local planning authority would be able to consider materially relevant objections from interested parties, including members of the public.”
