AN APPEAL that would have allowed 50 homes to be built in a quiet village has been dismissed after being deemed incapable  of sustaining the everyday needs for the future occupiers".

Tendring Council has rejected plans for development on the land to the north of Wick Lane in Ardleigh back in September 2020, after more than 140 objection comments were submitted on the council's planning portal.

Councillors found the 50 homes to be "inappropriate" for Ardleigh, reiterating the fact that it is a small village where building houses "should be limited to smaller developments."

An appeal was lodged by the applicant to the planning inspectorate and that has now also been dismissed.

In the appeal statement the developer said: "Locally an additional 50 dwellings would generate 155 jobs with 53 directly employed in the industry, 40 indirect jobs and 42 induced jobs.

"The scheme will provide housing in close proximity to services, facilities and employment opportunities.

"As such, additional residents would support the nearby shops and services, which would benefit from a greater catchment population to serve."

But the inspector did not agree, saying the development does not adhere to the relevant policies relating to housing in rural areas.

Ardleigh is classified as a Smaller Rural Settlement in policy SPL1 which are considered to be the least sustainable locations for growth.

The inspector added:"There is a bus stop directly outside of the appeal site which provides an hourly bus service to Colchester with journeys taking around 20mins to the centre of town.

"Whilst this would be an available alternative to the private car, having regard to their frequency, the bus service would be unlikely to be a realistic substitute to the convenience of a private car."

Education was also a key concern.

The inspector added: "The proposed development is expected to generate the need for 15 primary school places, at a cost of £16,596 per place.

"The evidence before me indicates that the existing primary school is already over capacity and that this is likely to remain the case for the remainder of the plan period, with a deficit of 36 places indicated."