The current status of this land north of Station Avenue in
Wickford is that of Special Reserve. This means that it is
available to be built on only after all other land zoned
for development has been exhausted. There are two areas of
Special Reserve land within the Basildon Council area - one
at Dry Street in Langdon Hills and these fields at Barn
Hall. Dry Street recently went through a similar process
where the landowners applied for planning permission. After
a campaign by local residents, that planning application is
no longer going ahead. The proposal to develop Barn Hall is
being firmly resisted by both Basildon and Chelmsford
Councils (as the whole area under threat falls within the
boundaries of both councils).
The history of this land at Barn Hall is that it was used
during and after the Second World War for food production
and cattle grazing. It was agricultural land and, as such,
was bought from the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and
Food (MAFF) ‘on the cheap’ by Gleeson Homes Ltd. In
conjunction with Gladedale Group Ltd, they have applied for
planning permission to build on the area - see Development Threat for
full details. When the land was sold to them, there
was an agreement that, in the event that it was
subsequently developed, a further sum of money would
be paid to central government.
The land was put into Special Reserve status (from Green
Belt) by the Basildon District Local Plan, which was
adopted in 1998. Some years later, Basildon Council decided
that they wished the land to revert to Green Belt. But
(after delays by central government) their Replacement
Local Plan had to be scrapped - leaving the previous Local
Plan effectively in place and the land in danger of being
developed. The Council tried again in 2007 to have Barn
Hall returned to Green Belt but, this time, the Secretary
of State for Communities and Local Government directed that
this could not happen in isolation and that the 1998 Local
Plan with the two areas of Special Reserve - Barn Hall and
Dry Street - must remain in place until new plans for the
whole district were completed under the Local Development
Framework (LDF) process.
