Whilst a major out of town food and non-food retail park in the countryside on the northern edge of Clacton had been promoted by the Council through its emerging Local Plan, it was removed by the examining Inspector.

Against that background a distinct approach was required. We demonstrated a very substantial need for the new retail floorspace and that no other sites were available. To compensate for the loss of countryside, 14 ha of adjoining land was offered as a country park.

Whilst the Council and the Secretary of State rejected the first proposal, a further scheme, with amendments but the same retail floorspace, was granted permission by the Secretary of State. He agreed that the scheme’s retail provision in light of a substantial retail need, together with the lack of any other suitable sites and the provision of a country park, outweighed the loss of, and impact on, the countryside.

We managed the whole planning and development process including securing the Secretary of State’s agreement that the Council’s request for an Environmental Impact Assessment was not appropriate, providing a very effective critique of the Council’s consultant’s retail study, negotiating an acceptable new bus service to the site with the County Council and a local operator and carefully selecting and instructing leading Counsel to gain the most effective use of his input.