COUNCILLORS will this week be asked to approve an application for new homes with developers asking them to consider its many benefits, rather than any perceived harm to the green belt.

The rural development of 27 custom build homes at Kemps Farm, South Ockendon is a custom-build project through which people will buy plots and then build their own homes, all of which must be zero carbon homes and environmentally friendly.

Councillors will get the chance to discuss it at Thursday's meeting (11 January) meeting of the council's planning committee.

The full background to the application can be found here. It contains full details of the site which is close to two completed developments of 11 and seven dwellings off Dennises Lane. The new homes would form a crescent around an existing pond.

It is probable that the site would be earmarked for development when the borough's new local plan is completed but its drafting has been subject to considerable delays and, at best, it appears now not likely to be completed before 2024.

The developer would like to press on with the project before then and is asking councillors to disregard an officer-led recommendation to refuse largely on technical reasons associated with current legislation around the green belt.

Though the planning officers found some merit in parts of the proposal they says they have 'positively and proactively' in coming to their conclusion and it has not been possible to negotiate a satisfactory way forward.

They give little or no weight to the environmental aspects of the project and that the council has an unfulfilled target for custom-build homes and instead returned to the argument that harm to the green belt had been identified and in their view there are not enough special circumstances to outweigh that harm.

However, the developer believe the plan sits in harmony with Thurrock's future plans.

Director of Sustainable Development at Iceni Projects, Dan Jestico, says: "Thurrock Council has declared a climate emergency and has agreed that urgent action is needed.

"We believe that 27 zero-carbon homes at Kemps Farm will provide a catalyst for the development industry in Thurrock. Homebuyers increasingly want homes that minimise carbon emissions and provide a lasting legacy for future generations."

And a new report to government backs up the importance of zero carbon building.

The Royal Town Planning Institute (RTPI) says that net zero carbon outcomes should be a "prerequisite of new development".

The RTPI report says: "The planning system often appears to deliver the wrong type of development in the wrong place, and does not fully consider the impact of development on carbon emissions."

Pitching the case for the Kemps Farm development at Thursday's meeting will be James Bompas, planning and business development director at Iceni.

He says: "For me, the vision for Kemps Farm is extremely exciting because it could be the first zero-carbon scheme in the borough – while providing custom-build homes.

"The applicant is determined to deliver zero-carbon homes in this location. Like Thurrock Council he recognises that there is a climate emergency and wants to be a pioneer in helping Thurrock deliver.

"This scheme, if approved, would make it easier for the council to insist on other schemes coming forward with similar sustainability credentials. There is no backing out of the commitment, the applicant is going to make a legal commitment to zero-carbon."

Mr Bompas will also tell members that there is proven demand for custom-build homes in the borough - Thurrock Council already has a list of 63 people that want to buy plots of land on sites like Kemps Farm so they can develop their own designs.