Plans to build four flats next to Upminster station have been submitted to Havering Council, just months after an application for five flats on the same site was dismissed.

The new proposals would see the existing commercial unit at Unit 1A Howard Road demolished to make way for three apartments of two bedrooms and one apartment of three bedrooms.

The applicant, who owns the freehold of the site, submitted the revised plans after their appeal against a refused development on the site dating back to 2021 was dismissed three months ago.

Initial plans were for four two-bedroom flats and one with a single bedroom to be built on the site.

But this application was refused after The Planning Inspectorate found that “the scale, bulk and massing of the proposed development” would have an “overbearing impact” on neighbouring residents.

To address these concerns, the latest design and access statement suggest a building that “is now two storeys instead of three and set well within the centre of the site”.

A decision is expected by June 12, and comments can currently still be made on the council’s planning portal (reference P0540.23).

Planning documents claim that the existing building on the site is “in a poor condition”, and that pre-application advice has deemed it suitable for residential use.

The proposed development has been designed around a gated courtyard and communal garden, and will contain parking, cycle storage and bin storage.