WITH no intervention from councillors and with historical objections from just one resident, a building that plays host to a local carpet shop will be demolished and 15 flats built in its place.

Approval by delegated decision has been given to an application for seven single and eight two bed flats on the site occupied by Lakeside Carpets at 545 London Road, South Stifford.

The site is a triangular shaped parcel of land located on the southern side of London Road and currently comprises of a two storey building currently used as a carpet and floor supply retail unit on the ground floor with a flat on the first floor.

The building will be demolished as part of the plan for the 15 new apartments, which will have 21 parking spaces.

It has taken nearly five years for the application to be decided, but permission was finally granted last week, just days after the applicants John Bonar from Brentwood and LNK Property Developments Ltd of Chelmsford agreed to pay £93,000 to Thurrock Council be used to provide affordable housing or infrastructure provision as decided by the authority.

Thurrock Council planning expectations are normally that 35 per cent of any new development would be designated as affordable housing (in this case five flats) but an agreement has been struck to waive that in favour of the one-off payment.

The applicants do not have to make any specific contribution to the provision of health or education facilities in the area.

The average price of a one bed flat in the area is around £160,000, while two bed homes are in the region of £220,000. Which means homes on the site have a total approximate net retail value of around £2.8 million.