Bower Hill 58-home plan 'like putting Canary Wharf in Epping'

Epping Town Council has opposed plans to build 58 homes on the vacant industrial site in Bower Hill Epping.

In 2014 a fire ravaged an abandoned laundry building on the site of the foundry, which closed in 1982.

Developer Troy Homes plans to build on the site have previously been rejected by Epping Forest District Council.

The developer has since turned to the Planning Inspectorate in an effort to get the scheme approved and the latest proposals will go before an appeal hearing in July.

At a town council meeting last night (June 9), councillors objected to the development for a fourth time, despite minor adjustments to the proposal.

Cllr Nigel Avey said the latest proposals had failed to address the council’s main objections; “over-development, mass and so forth”.

Deputy mayor Cllr Michael Wright conceded it was ‘inevitable the site would be developed’ but objected to Troy Homes’ proposals on the grounds the scheme was “over-development”.

“Throw it back to them and say come up with a scheme that works”, he said.

Cllr Avey agreed the site would one day have to be developed.

He said: “This is the wrong development on this site. It is in the local plan so we are going to have a development on this site, but not this one hopefully.

“It would seem to me the original points about the size of these blocks will really be detrimental on the street scene anyway and the amenities of neighbouring properties, a bit like putting Canary Wharf in Epping. It is kind of out of scale and completely wrong, it doesn't look right at all.”

Bower Vale residents at the meeting voiced concerns over the size of the blocks – of which there are five – saying the height of buildings would cause privacy issues and block out sunlight.

Concerns were also raised over how an influx of traffic might make the area more dangerous for young children.

A spokesperson for Troy Homes said: “Troy Homes is a local, small home builder specialising in creating high-quality places where people want to live. Epping has a huge shortage of homes, made worse by issues over air pollution and we are committed to support the District Council with its aspiration of delivering this site for housing, given that it is one of only a few urban sites located outside the Green Belt and allocated in the council’s emerging local plan for residential development.

“We will be creating a wonderful new development in a very sustainable area to replace old industrial buildings and a derelict laundry site. Our development will in fact reduce traffic and pollution levels and will be far better for people in the local area than if the site were to return to commercial use.

“We will also be cleaning up the contamination in the ground before building low-rise apartments and houses including many affordable homes. We believe the proposed development will create a high-quality environment with excellent landscaping, which complements the character of the surrounding area and limits the impact on neighbours.”

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