Garden Community Development Consultation - 13th November 2017 to 22nd January 2018 (extended to 2nd February 2018)

Post updates:
28th January 2018 - Update of deadline from 22nd January to 2nd February 2018

Deadline: 5pm, 2nd February 2018.

There is currently a public consultation on the details of the new Garden Community planned to the East of Colchester.

To quote from the consultation document, “Your feedback to this consultation will directly influence the strategies, policies and proposals in the final Development Plan for the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community.”

Important issues, including the position and size of green buffers are covered.

See here for the details of the consultation:

Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community Issues and Options Consultation

The consultation asks a number of questions. Please respond as you see fit, however, some suggested responses are below, which you are free to use. (I have prepared these by reading the consultation document and discussion with others.)

If you use the answers below, it might help if you highlight any changes you have made, so that the planners don't assume your answers are the same as these.

Q1 - Do you agree with the content of the Vision? Is anything missing? What are the priorities?

a) It is not clear what the following statement means:

“Regardless of which delivery model is applied, capturing the uplift in development land value will be critical to ensuring that the long-term aspirations of community stewardship of public assets and infrastructure are delivered.”

b) On page 12, ‘Key design principles identified at the TCBGC Concept Framework Workshop’

I think this should read ‘The importance of Salary Brook and its wider environment, including hill slopes up to the skyline visible from Greenstead and Longridge Park’, and ‘Avoiding coalescence with other settlements in particular Greenstead, Longridge Park, Wivenhoe and Elmstead Market.’
(Colchester East Action Group attended these workshops.)

c) On page 12 ‘A new Country Park’

The size of this Country Park is crucial – all new development should be over the brow of the hill and out-of-sight of existing residents of Greenstead and Longridge Park.

Q3 - Do you support the emerging approach to green infrastructure?

a) Maintaining a separation between the new community and Greenstead and Longridge Park should be mentioned, as well as between the new community and Wivenhoe and Elmstead Market.

b) The size of the Country Park is crucial - all new development should be over the brow of the hill and out-of-sight of existing residents of Greenstead and Longridge Park.

c) There is a natural buffer between the new community and Greenstead and Longridge park – the hill slope to the East side of Salary Brook, which should not be developed.

d) The Greenstead Ward councillors support a green, undeveloped buffer of 1.5km to the East of Colchester between existing and new development. This would mean an extension of the green space shown on the map, and the removal of the parcel of isolated residential/Knowledge Gateway land shown in Figure 5.1 (in Section 5).

e) All new development should be to the East of the ridgeline shown on the map in Figure 4.1, probably further away from Greenstead and Longridge Park. See d) above.

f) There should be a height restriction on buildings, so that they will not be visible from Greenstead and Longridge Park.

g) The Country Park around Salary Brook and its nearby slopes should be a natural place, similar to the natural areas in Highwoods Country Park in Colchester.

h) The Country Park around Salary Brook should be owned and maintained by Colchester Council. If there are not funds for this initially, the area can be protected from development and reserved as green space and to maintain the rural views from Greenstead and Longridge Park.

i) The boundaries of the Country Park around Salary Brook should be clearly defined, and these should be shown on the maps in Figures 4.1 and 5.1.

j) Small ad-hoc developments, like that proposed by Gladman Developments off Bromley Road, should always be refused.

Q4 - Do you support the emerging approach to integrated and sustainable transport?

a) In the future, private car ownership might be less necessary due to fleets of self-driving taxis which might be easily available.

b) Hythe station is an important asset for local people in the Hythe area of Colchester, and in Greenstead and Longridge Park.

Q8 - Do you support the emerging approach to good design?

a) Continuously-connected streets rather than dead-ends could lead to racing of cars. Maybe the roads should be dead-ends, but there should be pedestrian/cycle access between them.

Q13 - Do you support the emerging Concept Framework for the site?

a) The development to the South of the A133 which was resisted by local stakeholders seems to have been replaced with an inappropriate development parcel to the North of the A133 – the isolated parcel which is half residential and half Knowledge Gateway to the North of Wivenhoe House in Figure 5.1. This will spoil the illusion of a rural area which would be created if all new development is out of sight from Greenstead. If development has to go ahead here, it must be completely screened so it is invisible from Greenstead. Maybe this development could be partly split, with some South of the A133?

b) If the spatial layouts need amending in the case where 9,000 houses are needed, then the Country Park around Salary Brook and its slopes should still be protected, because it will serve as an important amenity to residents of Greenstead and Longridge Park. The boundaries of this country park therefore need to be very clearly defined and added to Figure 5.1. Any additional parcels of land that might be needed could be shown on the map.

c) See my answers to Q3 about the size and layout, and boundaries of the Country Park around Salary Brook and its slopes.

Regards
James
Colchester East Action Group (CHEAG)
Blog: http://cheag.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colchestereastactiongroup

'Salary Brook' and other Terms

A few points on wording:

Salary Brook Nature Reserve

The ‘Salary Brook Nature Reserve’ only covers a narrow strip of land, see the map from here:

Salary Brook NR

So we need to argue for an extension of the Salary Brook Nature Reserve to create a green buffer/country park, not just its protection, see below.

Salary Brook

‘Salary Brook’, taken literally, is only the brook itself. This is the interpretation of Gladman Developments in their submission to upcoming Local Plan hearings.

Salary Brook Valley

‘Valley’ is ‘low area between hills’ so is only the green space at the bottom of the area CHEAG is aiming to protect.

Proposed Wording

“Any new development to the East of Colchester should be over the brow of the hill and out-of-sight of existing residents of Greenstead and Longridge Park. There should be a 1.5km green, undeveloped buffer between current housing and any new development. This idea is supported by the Greenstead Ward councillors.”

Regards
James
Colchester East Action Group (CHEAG)
Blog: http://cheag.blogspot.co.uk/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/colchestereastactiongroup