IT was third time lucky on Monday for planning consultants Iceni Projects, who finally got the green light for a controversial housing development in Stanford-le-Hope.

Twice before, the application for 121 homes on Butts Lane, was rejected by Thurrock Council planning committee members – but twice they were talked round by senior planning officers into deferring a decision rather than saying 'no'. The first meeting was in March - and the second in June. July brought a fateful decision for those in opposition to the scheme.

And when the application came up for a third time of asking last evening (Monday, 6 July) councillors were talked into giving it their backing – despite some severe reservations from members including the committee's vice chair, former Campaign for the Protection of Rural England representative Steve Taylor who said he 'did not like the scheme, but still voted for it.

Iceni will now go about finding a housebuilder to take on the project – which opponents say is unwanted, unnecessary, a danger to traffic and will mean the loss of sporting facilities at the adjacent St Clere's secondary school.

Statutory consultants Sports England stood firm in their opposition to the scheme but their waw was ignored by a majority of the seven councillors who voted – with an eighth committee member Bill Mumford sitting the issue out because he is chair of youth football club St Clere's FC, who play on the sports pitches.. Nevertheless, before walking away from his seat in the chamber, he delivered a message of support for the scheme from his club – the first time they have actively engaged in the application.

At last night's meeting Reform councillor Peggy Davies raised concerns about the impact of additional traffic near the school.

She said: "There's a lot of children and cars going in and out of one tiny area. It's pretty dangerous."

However, a planning officer told the committee that highway safety issues had been carefully assessed and did not meet the threshold for refusal.

That was despite, between 2005 and 2010, there being 11 significant accidents involving injury on the narrow rural road approaching the school site and adjacent to the proposed site one of which included a fatality. However, creation of the Stanford and Maple Park housing estates to the west of Butts Lane 11 years ago mitigated part of the problem and accident numbers had been reduced, with just three since 2016.

Access to the new site will be via a single road, created off a T-junction on Butts Lane close to its narrowest point at the top of an incline.

Highways officer Matt Ford told members: "Before the Maple Park development, there were 11 recorded accidents between 2005 and 2015, four of which involved children. After the development, between 2016 and 2026, there were just three accidents and none involved schoolchildren.

"Butts Lane is inherently safer road than in previous years. In line with our policy which specifies what it would and wouldn't accept, it is not considered unsafe."

Cllr Jack Fuller asked whether a secondary vehicle access should be considered to reduce risk.

Mr Ford said a second access was not usually required until a site reached around 3000 proposed homes. He added two access points would push new traffic into a rural area with no footpaths and reduced visibility.

Cllr Peggy Davies pressed officers on whether the safety of students in relation to the existing road and proposed junction 'had been taken seriously.'

Planning officer David Stewart responded that all risks had been carefully reviewed, adding "strict controls" are put in place.

Cllr Jack Fuller said he was satisfied that the road risk was low, but could not back the scheme due to the ongoing objection from Sports England.

Despite Sports England's continued objections insisted that sports provision would be sufficient.

Committee chair Cllr Russell Cherry said he supported the application, saying: "I have heard from the officers, and they have put a lot of thought into road safety. There has been a lot of mitigation with regards to the pitches, the pitches don't appear to go ahead."

He also said the need for new homes in Thurrock was pressing, adding: "I would like to continue to support this application and we need to help the people go forward but those objecting have homes and some people do not."

Now a Reform councillor with a vote – after years sitting on the committee largely opposing green belt development - Cllr Taylor said he was not fully supportive of the scheme, but recognised the financial pressures facing the school which faces an expensive rebuild because of problems with 'concrete cancer'.

When it came to a vote Cllrs Stephen and Peggie Davies voted against, as did Cllr Fuller but votes from Cllrs Cherry, Taylor, Kevin Lawrence and James Mackintosh delivered the long-awaited victory for Iceni who can add the Butts Lane site to a growing list of highly contentious green belt schemes they was won approval for across the borough.