Developer loses appeals against council in long-running dispute over controversial housing site
By Nub News Reporter 4th May 2026
A THURROCK developer has lost his appeal against Thurrock Council decisions relating to a controversial development in East Tilbury – and he also failed in a bid to win costs.
The Lawns development in the Thurrock village has been subject to court action after Ingleton Luxury Homes failed to build out all the homes and left the site in a shocking state, covered with debris and rubbish. It has been branded a complete eyesore.
The plot, adjacent to Princess Margaret Road should have comprised 18 homes, six of which were supposed to be 'affordable' according to the planning permission.
However, only 12 were built, which are rented out at a commercial rate.
Company director Tom Ingleton says the site proved not to be viable financially and went back to the council asking for changes to his planning permission. He was also prosecuted for failing to keep the site in a fit and proper state.
In an emotional court hearing in July 2024, Mr Ingleton argued his case before magistrates but was ultimately found to be at fault and fines were issued.
Thurrock Council gave Mr Ingleton and his companies a window of opportunity to rectify problems, but in the end continued with action against him for non-compliance.
That in turn led to an appeal by the developer to the Planning Inspectorate which took place over two days in October last year and January this year at the Old Courthouse in Grays. It was led by planning inspector Graham Chamberlain, who has now delivered his verdicts.
He rejected Ingleton Luxury Homes' appeal against the council decision not to allow him to modify conditions in his original planning permission, with revisions to the Section 106 contributions for an education payment of £70,154 to increase capacity at local schools and cut back on a payment of housing contribution as £141,678 for affordable housing. And he threw out a claim for Thurrock Council to pay costs.
Nub News previewed the appeal hearing in October last year.
As part of his appeal, Mr Ingleton had put forward proposals that he says would increase community contributions beyond those in the original Section 106 agreement, including £97,101 towards education (higher than the £70,514.50 originally agreed) and £169,109 towards affordable housing across Thurrock.
To date Ingleton Luxury Homes has made no payment at all for the education contribution but Mr Ingleton's legal team suggested they would in the future when the development was completed. However, the council stood its ground and argued what was agreed should be paid now rather than delay matters further.
In his report Mr Chamberlain recognised the council's position, saying: "Given the appellant's failure to make any payment to date, and because the proposed modifications would push the first payment to some unspecified time in the future, I can understand the Council's reluctance to agree to the modification. Indeed, the Council has referred to the maxim of a 'bird in the hand is worth two in the bush' as a means of explaining their position."
In his summary Mr Chamberlain said he saw no purpose in meeting Ingleton's request for further delays and deferments of payment to a future point in time and concluded: "In conclusion, the planning obligations in question continue to serve useful purposes. The proposed modifications would not serve those purposes equally well. As such, the planning obligation shall continue to have effect without the proposed modifications. The appeal is therefore dismissed."
Mr Ingleton and his company now face having to pay substantial sums to the council and are obligated to finish the building programme under the terms of the original planning permission. Full details of the original agreements can be found here.
Mr Chamberlain's verdicts can be read in full here:
Further court action is pending against Ingleton Luxury Homes over the continued poor state of the site.
What moves the company and Mr Ingleton will make from here remain unknown. He has previously made unfulfilled pledges to keep the site in better order but also claims fault lies with the council, previously saying: "For years we have been battling with Thurrock Council's planning department to get this site back on track, so it can finally be completed and secured for the benefit of the community. In that time:
- I have been unfairly made responsible for other people's crimes, including illegal fly-tipping, and heavily fined as a result.
- I lost my company and have faced detrimental, damaging treatment from Thurrock Council which has directly stopped progress on the site.
- The delays have left space for antisocial behaviour and illegal dumping, which we are determined to stop."
And the financial position of Mr Ingleton and the company may well mean the inspector's judgement and directive remain unflfilled.
Previous Mr Ingleton has said: ""The truth is we've faced serious financial hardship directly because Thurrock Council rescinded on written agreements, which caused our funding to be abruptly pulled. That's why progress stalled — not because of a lack of will on our part.
"I am in a bad financial spot all because of this. I am trying to exist on a day-to-day basis at the moment."
One option Thurrock Council could take if no action is forthcoming from the developer is to carry out remedial work on the site itself, possibly up to and including building out the remaining homes, and then seek costs from Mr Ingleton and his companies.
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