Tuesday 13 May 2014

Tendring Council Mentions of Colchester Residents' and Other Responses to January 2014 Consultation

There are mentions of Colchester residents' objections and other comments received during the public consultation in January 2014, regarding the 'Colchester Fringe' proposals:

Document Reference

A.2 Results Of Public Consultation On The Local Plan: Pre-Submission Focussed Changes
Tendring Council - Local Plan Commitee
View Local Plan Committee Agenda - 13 May 2014
Click here
(This has now been updated to be minutes of the meeting.)

On Page 2:

Issue 4 – Colchester Fringe: Objections from Colchester residents and their MP concerned about the Colchester Fringe being identified as a ‘broad location for possible longer-term growth’.

On Page 10:

Mersea Homes

Mersea Homes is promoting a major mixed use development on land to the east of Colchester, crossing the Colchester/Tendring administrative boundary that would incorporate new high tech business parks, expansion of facilities at Essex University, 3,000-5,000 new homes with associated community facilities, a link road between the A120 and the A133, a park and ride facility.

On Page 16:

Sir Bob Russell MP

Sir Bob Russell, the Member of Parliament for Colchester has written to the Council to express his concerns about the identification of the Colchester Fringe as a possible location for longer-term growth. He is concerned about the potential impact on Colchester residents and the local environment. He has suggested that, if a major development in this location is needed, it should be located closer to, or on the edge of, Elmstead Market rather than the built up area of Colchester.

On Page 18:

Cllr. Ray Gamble – Colchester Borough Council Ward Member for St. Johns

Cllr. Gamble’s representations were in strong objection to the identification of the Colchester Fringe as potential location for longer-term growth. He suggests that there should be plenty of room in Tendring to accommodate all of the new housing that is needed without having to resort to ‘dumping’ development on the edge of Colchester.

On Page 19:

Colchester Residents

16 representations and a 104-name petition have been received from residents of Colchester raising concern about the identification of the Colchester Fringe as a broad location for possible longer-term growth. Some have raised concern about the possible impact of development on the infrastructure and environment around the Colchester Fringe and others have suggested that Tendring District Council is attempting to offload its planning problems onto Colchester.

On Page 22:

Issue 4: Colchester Fringe

The representations from residents of Colchester raise concerns about the possibility of development around the Colchester Fringe, however against the backdrop of needing to substantially increase the amount of land needed for development, both Colchester Borough Council and Tendring District Council will need to give serious consideration to the Colchester Fringe as a location for major development. The Council’s Economic Development Strategy advocates major development in this location, linked with investment at Essex University and new infrastructure, as a means of generating economic growth and creating new jobs in the high-tech, higher-paid professions.

If it is decided that major development on the Colchester Fringe will not be promoted as part of the new Local Plan, the opportunities to generate economic growth and create substantial numbers of new jobs will be severely limited to service-sector jobs to serve a growing population in the Clacton area and jobs related to activities at the port at Harwich. Ruling out development on the Colchester Fringe could also make it very difficult for both Colchester Borough Council and Tendring District Council to identify sufficient deliverable land to meet the objectively-assessed need for housing, as required by national policy.

However, if both Colchester Borough Council and Tendring District Council do determine that the Colchester Fringe is the right location for major development, there will naturally be some resistance from residents in Colchester and surrounding parishes within Tendring, however by working with Colchester Borough Council and other partners on this project, it can be ensured that the development will bring maximum economic and social benefit to residents of Colchester and Tendring.

Regards
James
Colchester East Action Group (CHEAG)