A LONG-RUNNING attempt to stop plans for 24 homes in a small village has finally ended after a planning inspector dismissed the appeal.
Q Developments was looking to build the homes on land south of Chapel Road in Ridgewell.
Plans were first submitted to Braintree Council in November 2022.
An appeal for 'non-determination' was later lodged by the applicant to the Planning Inspectorate.
This meant the council could no longer rule on the application, but still had to say what its decision would have been.
Braintree Council said it would have refused the plans.
Previous plans for 24 homes on the same site were refused, with the applicant re-submitting the same proposal.
A number of residents have sent their views objecting to the proposal.
Concerns include harm to wildlife, damage to green spaces and traffic fears.
Braintree Council said the site is in an “inaccessible location”, and would represent an “unacceptable degree of hazard to all users of the highway, particularly cars and pedestrians seeking to access the site”.
Following an appeal, a planning inspector has now refused the plans.
They said: "Although there would be no adverse impact on highway safety, the proposed development would conflict with the development plan taken as a whole, given the poor access of the site to services and facilities, and the harm that would be caused to the character of the area.
"There are no material considerations raised, which would outweigh this conflict.
"The appeal is therefore dismissed and planning permission is refused."
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