Thu 23rd Dec 2021: The Local Plan

What is a Local Plan?

Local planning authorities like Braintree District Council are required by law to prepare planning documents that take account of the future needs of the communities they represent.  Examples of what are covered include housing needs, roads and other infrastructure, the natural and built environment, and addressing climate change.  These locally prepared plans are based on national policy enshrined in the National Planning Policy Framework should guide local planning decisions. So, the Local Plan is vital to ensure that local planning authorities have a clear vision, but just as important is the council’s efforts to consult with its residents.

Braintree District Council Local Plan 2013-2033 

As the name suggests, Braintree’ has been preparing its Local Plan for a very long time. Its history has been somewhat tortuous and Section 1, which initially focused on building garden communities with some adjacent authorities. Following examination by government appointed planning inspector the garden settlements were ruled out and the revised section was approved in February 2021.   

                                            
Without a clear plan in place, the council has always been vulnerable to legal challenges when planning applications for larger scale developments have been refused. One of the biggest complaints is the lack of that population growth is not matched by additional infrastructures such as transport, health services or school places. Only a few days ago, district councillors wrote to Michael Gove about the difficulties local councils face.                                                                                                                                                          
Councils have a legal obligation to meet certain standards of ‘community engagement’ throughout the Local Plan process and as we have learned over the years, it’s also critical that local people participate in the planning process. Our Local Plan policies will guide planning decisions until 2033, so we need to participate in their preparation now. 

Section 2 

This section addresses the local sites and much of this was discussed in depth several years ago. During that time we hoped to convince council members to change the designation of Land East of the High Street from a Comprehensive Development Area to a Local Green Space. We did not succeed. However, modifications to policies have been proposed and prepared for the next stage – and one of these concerns the policy, LPP 24, for Land East of the High Street. The earlier version required the ‘retention and refurbishment of at least one of the air raid shelters’. Thanks to a planning inspector's report, the policy now requires the retention and refurbishment of ‘the air raid shelters’. The removal of four small words on page 15 of the Main Modifications will make a very big difference.

So what now?

The final public consultation for Section 2 began on 6 December 2021 and ends at 5pm on 24 January 2022.  We’re drafting our own written response as a group and we’ll be letting our heritage group network know too.  We hope that local people will get involved because it’s very difficult for members of the public to have any influence on planning decisions when applications comply with Local Plan policies. We’re composing an email to send to all our subscribers.  Click on the Join Us button, fill in the online form,  and we’ll make sure that you get copies. 

There’s lots of sensible information about the planning process in this document published by the Council for Protection of Rural England (CPRE). You can also ask us questions by emailing us at info@halstead21stcentury.org.uk and we’ll do our best to help ourselves or to point you in the right direction.

So please, please do get involved in the Local Plan consultation.