Brentwood Borough Council’s Housing Services in reviewing the garage sites they own as a part of their housing strategy.
The council has identified that the current rate of supply of affordable housing will not meet growing housing needs. One initiative to increase provision is to review the garage sites to consider whether the land could be used for housing for rent or additional parking.
In Ingatestone and Fryerning there are 53 garages on nine sites. Some sites are in a poor state of repair and are deemed not fit for purpose to store modern car given the increase in average dimensions. It is believed, although not yet fully evidenced, that the majority of current tenancies are for the storage and not parking.
In the Brentwood borough, the first of the garage sites to change use has been agreed in Magdalen Gardens and Fawters Close and new modular housing will be erected.
We know from our current Neighbourhood Plan business and residents’ questionnaire responses that parking is a major issue in the villages. Some of the garage sites are in the core of the villages and others near local schools. We will be considering all options in our Neighbourhood plan research to resolve or at least improve some of these concerns.
