Early proposals to build up to nine houses at a former plant nursery, which was controversially turned into offices without permission, have been thrown out.

Drainage firm, First4Drains, submitted a permission in principle application for Walnut Hill Nursery, between Istead Rise and New Barn, near Gravesend, last month.

This meant planning officers had to first establish whether the site was suitable for such a development before a detailed scheme could be drawn up and assessed.

In the submitted documents, applicant and company director of First4Drains, Christopher Lawson, argued it was a sustainable location for housing and would not be “out of keeping” with the area.

He claimed the site was “by no means isolated” as it is close to other homes and towns and can be accessed by car, bike or by walking from nearby bus stops.

However, this was disputed by planning officers who said the road network is challenging as it is “narrow, winding, and unlit”, lacking pedestrian footways and has limited pull-in places.

They also claimed the proposed development would “undoubtedly alter the visual appearance of the site and urbanise it further”, but said with appropriate landscaping, it could be designed to complement the area.

Mr Lawson had also argued that housing would be a more “appropriate, sympathetic and compatible land use” than the current unlawful use as offices.

The site, off Walnut Hill Road, is in the green belt, however, it was decided that as it does not strongly contribute to the green belt purposes it could be classified as grey belt land.

The planning statement argued: “The site is not a greenfield, agricultural parcel of land, free from any previous lawful development.

“Even if Gravesham council was to conclude that the development is not in a sustainable location, this would not, on its own, form a strong reason to refuse the application.”

Yet, officers decided the scheme failed to meet the requirements regarding development of grey belt land so would be “inappropriate” and “harmful to the green belt”.

Their report added: “There are no special circumstances that have been put forward that would outweigh the harm by reason of inappropriateness, and therefore permission in principle cannot be granted.”

The application was also rejected as officers could not be satisfied adequate measures to mitigate potential effects on the Thames Estuary and Marshes Special Protection Area would be in place.

First4Drains took over Walnut Hill Nursery in March 2023 and started using it as its headquarters without planning permission.

Mr Lawson then retrospectively asked Gravesham council if he needed prior approval to repurpose the main agricultural building for commercial use, and was told he did and it would be denied.

The local authority then served an enforcement notice on the former plant nursery in December, demanding the firm stop using the land and that all HGV lorries, machinery, equipment and debris be removed.

The company appealed the notice to the Planning Inspectorate, the government agency tasked with deciding planning appeals, asking that it be revoked.

Mr Lawson explained the site was used by 16 employees who deal with the administration side of the business, and the company’s fleet, were kept at the home of the user and rarely visited the site.

However, in their report, the Planning Inspectorate said there were “conflicting views” over their storage and they were “doubtful” that staff would keep the vehicles, especially HGVs, at their home address.

Residents also raised safety concerns over HGVs accessing the site due to the surrounding country lanes and lack of passing places.

Following a hearing, the appeal was dismissed and planning permission was refused.

Despite this, it was believed that the firm was continuing to operate from Walnut Hill Nursery leading the council to start legal action against the owners for an alleged breach of the enforcement notice.

Since then, First4Drains has submitted two fresh planning bids, including the now-refused one for housing and an undecided retrospective application looking to change the use to offices.