Creeping Planning Applications - a Masterclass (Part 1)

I have a friend who has had to move into supported living in the Clacton-on-Sea area.

As a good citizen, (rights and responsibilities etc.), I thought I would look into the background of the brand new premises that my friend would be moving into. It was a revelation and it introduced me to the concept of the "Creeping Planning Application" (CPA).

To make use of this approach to getting round all sorts of planning rules and regulations you must be patient, superbly prepared and not at all impulsive. Success also relies upon the local planning officers being overworked and local residents being indifferent or unaware about how planning applications come to be successful.

It is a complicated story, perhaps not an easy read, but it will fill you with admiration for the focus and determination of those making the application to get what they want.

Here goes....... Oh, by the way, I will publish this in several instalments. Just like the "Creeping Planning Application" technique.... an exemplar of deferred gratification.

One more thing before I start. Although this is about a plot of land in Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, it can be universally applied across the UK....and indeed it is!

The property I have chosen for this exemplar of a CPA is (or was!) Grove Cottage, Jaywick Lane, Clacton-on-Sea, CO15 2DR. It was an attractive, thatched building in its own considerable grounds. See the aerial view here:

Aerial View of Grove Cottage

The label at the end of the above link is placed by Google in the wrong place (I think!). I am not a local, so I may be mistaken. Anyway, the building and its grounds that I am interested in is the one I have marked and roughly indicated in red below. I will come back to the blue line later!

Grove Cottage from Google Maps (see link above)

Whilst preparing this post I came across the Street View photograph of the building as in the picture below (at the end of the link too). I was fairly shocked to see what a lovely building this was! In fact, I would have thought it should have been listed. Sadly, that horse has bolted.

Grove Cottage in October 2012 from Google Street View (see link below)

Grove Cottage before its demise.


The "birds eye" view from Bing Maps, at the end of the link here, shows the house in better times, before it had been sold in 2010. The next picture is an extract from the Bing Maps view.

Grove Cottage - a birds eye view from Bing Maps - pre-2010(?)

On 31 March 2010 the property was sold for £650,000 and was purchased by, according to the title at The Land Registry (EX804229):

WILLOW PARK DEVELOPMENTS LIMITED (Co. Regn. No.
06821377) of 92 Station Road, Clacton-on-Sea, Essex CO15
1SG and of Willow Park, The Street, Weeley, Essex CO16
9JE.

This is where the blue line on the illustration above comes into play...I think. We will look at that in a later post.

For the moment, a final caveat.. I may be entirely wrong about this whole thing and I am hopeful that readers will take the time to enter debate, via comments, about the process and my understanding of it.