Design & Access Statement

Collins Green School Road Messing.

The existing site is occupied by one residential bungalow and a large number of sheds workshops and a garage which are scattered haphazardly over the site and lie outside the notional village development limit taken from a previous planning application on this site. The site is sloping and bounded on two sides by tall conifers and indigenous hedges/scrub on the others which provide a hidden aspect, but limit views to the wider countryside. The large Ash tree at the front of the site is to the only tree of any note and is to be retrained.

The site lies at a bend in School road such that the newly proposed access would have good vision and site splays to existing road.
The proposal is not dissimilar to the previous permission Ref F/COL/04/0826 for 7 dwellings and has been developed in consultation with Mr I Ward of the Planning Department. The new proposal is again for 7 No. dwellings comprising of:

2 No. 3 bedroom semi detached houses
2 No. 4 bedroom semi detached houses
2 No. 5 Bedroom Detached houses
1 No. 6 Bedroom house

The new properties are orientated to avoid overlooking and being overlooked from adjacent dwellings and with the front entrance doors are accessed from the private courtyard.

Ample Parking has been provided with a min. of 2 spaces per dwelling refuse collection will be made from the main road without entering the site.

The buildings are informally grouped around 2 secluded private areas set back from the main road, thus providing privacy and less impact on the village. The garage blocks have been arranged to enhance the privacy and unify the scheme. Materials are drawn from the typical Essex Vernacular palette and found in the area with pantile/plain tile roofs and brick external walls with feature areas of render.

Gardens are generally East facing and are large due to the development boundary which limits the extent of building and they will need to be designed to take account of the levels.

The dwellings will be designed to be fully wheelchair accessible with flush thresholds to the principle entrance and designed to comply with part M of the Building Regulations. Due to the sloping site the main courtyard areas will re-levelled where practical and be hard surfaced to allow level access by wheel chair or ambulance users from the car parking areas to the principle entrance of the dwellings.