Brightlingsea residents are to have a final say on a local plan that could allow up to 90 new houses and 60 assisted living units to be built in the town by 2043.
A six-week public consultation into district-wide plans for additional housing will be launched on September 7. It will include five face-to-face events, one of which is expected to be in Brightlingsea.
It comes after Tendring District Council (TDC) approved the submission version of its Local Plan Review — the blueprint for where more than 18,000 new homes, plus jobs, infrastructure and community facilities should go over the next 17 years.
The consultation will be the last chance for residents, businesses, community groups, landowners and other interested parties to comment before the plan is submitted to government for independent examination.
The review has been prepared against the government’s mandatory housebuilding targets, which require Tendring to plan for 1,069 homes a year — 18,173 homes between 2026 and 2043. The target means building around 8,000 more homes over the period than previously planned for. Without an agreed local plan, government could take over the process and decide on potential sites without local consultation.
Following intervention from Brightlingsea’s town and district councillors, a proposed 300-home development on greenfield land off Church Road and Samson’s Road was shelved. With the town’s allocation reduced, the current proposal is to allow building on five sites (seen below), including – subject to sale and planning permission – of assisted living units on the former Well House site in Chestnut Way.
Brightlingsea Town Council has previously said that it is “aware that any increase in housing provision puts further strain on the town’s infrastructure and will seek to work with appropriate organisations to mitigate this wherever possible”.
Carlo Guglielmi, chairman of TDC’s planning policy and local plan committee, said: “This local plan represents years of hard work in the face of significant challenges, including changing national policy and demanding housing targets set by government. Our officers have worked hard to produce a credible plan that gives Tendring the best chance of retaining local control over future development.”
Comments submitted to the new consultation need to focus on whether the local plan meets legal requirements and the government’s tests for being sound. Only comments submitted during this final consultation will be passed to the independent planning inspector and any views previously submitted will have to be sent again.
“This is a more technical stage, but it is no less important,” said Andy Baker, TDC’s cabinet member for housing and planning. “It is the point at which people can say whether they believe the plan is legally compliant and sound.”
He added: “The government’s housing targets mean difficult decisions have had to be made, but having an up-to-date local plan gives Tendring the best chance of managing growth properly, securing infrastructure and resisting speculative development.”
To take part in the consultation go to https://tendringdc.oc2.uk/document/72.