Tendring District Local Plan Preferred Options Consultation 2016

Tendring Council are currently running a consultation on their 'Tendring District Local Plan Preferred Options Consultation Document 2016'.

The proposed enormous development to the East of Colchester / West of Tendring is covered.

The deadline for submissions is: Thursday 8 September 2016 at 5pm.

This consultation is in addition to the one currently running by Colchester Council, which I will email about over the next few weeks.

The Tendring consultation is described here:

Tendring District Local Plan Preferred Options Consultation

I have put together a draft response (below). You can submit comments by registering as described on the above-linked web page, or you can email my text below to:

planning.policy@tendringdc.gov.uk

Please use your own words if possible, maybe using what I have written as a guide if you agree.

Please see the above-linked webpage for more details on other ways to respond, and other information.

If you use my template below, please feel free to amend my text to fit your views, and add other views if you read the document from the web page linked above. You might want to highlight any parts of your answers different from mine below, to be sure the council take note of them.

Anonymous responses will not be accepted, so you must include your contact details. The council will publicly publish responses, but I assume contact details will not be included - please check the web page above, or contact Tendring Council if you are worried about this.

By email (or post), or online:

[Start of email, letter or online submission]

Email Subject: Tendring District Local Plan Preferred Options Consultation Document 2016

To: The Planning Policy Manager,
Planning Department,
Tendring District Council,
Council Offices,
Thorpe Road,
Weeley,
Clacton-on-Sea,
Essex,
CO16 9AJ
Email: planning.policy@tendringdc.gov.uk

From: [Your name here]
[Your Address Here]
Email: [Your email address here]
Telephone: [Your telephone number here - this may not be necessary]

Dear Sir/Madam,

Here are my comments on the Tendring District Local Plan Preferred Options Consultation Document 2016.

Please personally send me confirmation of receipt of this email and display my comments, without my personal details, on your web site.

Policy SP8 - East Colchester / West Tendring New Garden Community

Here are my comments:

Regarding point 'v' - 'A high proportion of the garden community will comprise green infrastructure including a new country park around Salary Brook':

This green infrastructure should be large enough to form a substantial buffer between existing residents of Colchester and any new development.

In particular, any new development should be over the brow of the hill heading away from Salary Brook, and thus out of sight of existing residents of Greenstead and Longridge Park in Colchester.

Policy PPL 6 - Strategic Green Gaps is relevant here, and should be applied.

The East side of Colchester is already well-developed, but has some well-used and important green open spaces nearby which are valued by the public, and are important for wildlife. These green open spaces, stretching to a distance of at least 1.5km away from existing development, should be untouched by new development, as described later in this answer. Too much new development directly on the Eastern border of existing developed areas of Colchester would create an unpleasant and unmanageable urban sprawl.

Furthermore, Tendring Council, by introducing a significant amount of residential or other development into the countryside to the East of Colchester, would materially harm the character and appearance of the rural area contrary to the objectives of national policy (National Planning Policy Framework, 2012, paragraph 17, 5th bullet point; paragraph 109; and paragraph 81 is also related, although paragraph 81 is specific to Green Belts). This may also contravene local planning policy.

Local and national policy should collectively recognise the intrinsic character and beauty of the countryside, seek to enhance the rural landscape and visual amenity of any Green Belt or general green land, and prevent development conspicuous from within any Green Belt or general green land which would have an excessive impact on rural character.

If there is to be new development to the East of Colchester, there should be a buffer (or country park) of green, completely undeveloped land of 1.5km around Salary Brook.
This protected 'Salary Brook Valley and Slopes' would include the Salary Brook itself, plus currently-undeveloped land 1.5km either side of the brook, along its entire length between Ardleigh and where the brook meets the River Colne.

One of the Colchester community groups organised an e-Petition with Colchester Council called 'Save Salary Brook Valley' which has nearly 800 signatories, there is also an e-Petition being organised by greenstead.online.

Please also take into account all objections to the 'Colchester Fringe' proposals received during your 6th January 2014 to 17th February 2014 public consultation and the Tendring District Local Plan: Issues and Options 2015 Consultation.

Regarding Infrastructure

The Hythe Station is an important asset for residents of Greenstead and Longridge Park in Colchester, and all its services should be maintained or increased.

[End of email, letter or online submission]

Regards
James
Colchester East Action Group (CHEAG)
Blog: http://cheag.blogspot.co.uk/ 

greenstead.online and Evidence Base

greenstead.online

Colchester East Action Group and greenstead.online have very similar views regarding the housing development proposals in the East of Colchester / West of Tendring area.

I propose that the priorities for action for residents are:

Joint first priority: Respond to current Colchester and Tendring Local Plan Consultations (I will be emailing about this before the September deadline).
Joint first priority: Write to Greenstead Ward Councillors (please email me for ideas and contact details).
Joint first priority: Sign the petition, details below. This is not a substitute for the two previously-mentioned actions, but will really help.

Information about the petition organised by greenstead.online can be found here.

Colchester Council Evidence Base Documents

There are some very interesting documents in the Evidence Base, which can be found here:

Emerging Local Plan Evidence Base

They are not council policy yet, as far as I know.

Among the documents that are interesting are the four in the ‘North Essex Garden Communities Concept Feasibility Study’ section of the above web page.

These four have been prepared by a consultancy commissioned by the council.

Page 39 of the document 'Baseline Compendium LOW RES [20Mb]' on that web page shows a very small proposed country park.

Regards
James
Colchester East Action Group (CHEAG)
Blog: http://cheag.blogspot.co.uk/