Strategic Planning and Garden Communities

Strategic Planning

Partners will be reviewing the proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework and wider planning reforms in the Levelling-Up and Regeneration Bill as it goes through Parliament, latest progress can be found here.  Previously they had been reviewing the Government’s Levelling Up white paper, where a briefing from SELEP can be found here, and the Planning for the Future white paper where a joint response to the consultation was subsequently submitted to Government.

Plan making is progressing with a number of plans going forward for examination, however, a few have been delayed. For the latest position on individual local plans, please see the links below. Strategic Housing Market Assessments (SHMAs) and Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessments (SHLAAs) continue to form a major part of the wider evidence base to support Local Plans and investment in infrastructure.

Garden Communities

The plans for new garden communities are being developed across Essex including Chelmsford Garden Community, Harlow and Gilston Garden Town, Tendring and Colchester Borders Garden Community and Uttlesford District Council Garden Communities in their local plan. The Association of South Essex Local Authorities (ASELA) is also developing a blueprint for new homes, jobs and infrastructure through a joint planning framework. Further details of their strategic place partnership with Homes England and five pioneering programmes can be found here.

The Building Garden Communities programme is now entering its second year 2022-23, led by the Essex / Kent Developers Group and the South Essex Local Enterprise Partnership (SELEP).  To-date, a series of events have been delivered by White Label including:

Round Table – Building Garden Communities, 27 September 2022

Building Garden Communities – Conference, 24 May 2022

Round Table – build back beautiful, 22 July 2021

Building Garden Communities – Conference, March 2021

Round Table – impact of the proposed planning reforms, September 2020

The next Building Garden Communities Conference has been confirmed on 26 April 2023, London, further details including booking arrangements can be found here.

Stewardship and Estate Charging

Essex Developers and Kent Developers Group have been sharing best practice on Stewardship and also looking at what kind of model / approach might work best / providing flexibility for differing developments. This includes looking at a number of Garden Communities as they develop such as

Tendering Colchester Borders Garden Community, Essex

South Ashford Garden Community / Chilmington Green, Kent

Otterpool Park, Folkstone, Kent

Harlow and Gilston Garden Town, Essex 

Landgarth Garden Village, Cornwall

And sign posting to excellent advice from Homes England’s “Garden Communities Tool Kit” and the TCPA’s: “Emerging Lessons in Long-term Stewardship”.

The group is keen to test different models of stewardship – endowment v charging, look at the best way to engage education and health to establish when and how new facilities should be delivered in garden community schemes. Consider how model / approach can be best embedded in local plans. Determine how flexibility can be introduced for varying developments / requirements. Explore the role of the New Homes Ombudsman regarding potential malpractice in estate management. Our Estate Charging & Stewardship Work in Progress report – seeks to capture key areas of work and outcomes to-date.

Key Links For Further Information

What are Garden Communities

New Garden Communities in Essex

Dunton Hills Garden Village

Harlow and Gilston Garden Town

Tendering Colchester Borders Garden Community

Uttlesford District Council garden communities

North Heybridge Garden Suburb, Maldon

Chelmsford Garden Village

Local Plans

Essex is made up of 15 Local Planning Authorities including City, District, Borough, Unitary and County Councils. The following links will take you to each local authorities planning page for the latest local plan update:

http://www.basildon.gov.uk/localplan

https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/new-local-plan-for-thurrock/thurrock-local-plan

https://www.rochford.gov.uk/planning-and-building/planning-policy/new-local-plan

https://www.castlepoint.gov.uk/planning-policy

http://www.southend.gov.uk/info/200128/planning_and_building/807/southend_new_local_plan

http://www.brentwood.gov.uk/index.php?cid=694

http://www.harlow.gov.uk/planning-policy

https://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy-and-new-local-plan/new-local-plan/

https://www.braintree.gov.uk/info/200230/planning_policy

https://www.tendringdc.gov.uk/localplan

https://colchester.jdi-consult.net/localplan/

https://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/new-local-plan

https://www.maldon.gov.uk/homepage/7031/emerging_local_plan

http://www.efdclocalplan.org/

Local housing companies:

https://www.thurrock.gov.uk/thurrock-regeneration-housing/new-high-quality-housing

https://www.semprahomes.co.uk/

Brentwood Development Partnership – Building a future bright with opportunity

more to be added…

Thames Estuary

The Thames Estuary is the UK’s number one growth opportunity. Located in the south-east of England, on the country’s most important waterway, we are in a good place.

The Thames Estuary Growth Board, led by our government-appointed Envoy, Kate Willard, is driving forward an action plan: “The Green Blue”.

This builds on the previous Thames Estuary 2050 Vision

and is informed by the Thames Estuary 2100 Plan

for managing tidal flood risk in the Thames estuary to the end of the century and beyond. It looks at out how the Environment Agency will protect 1.25 million people and £200 billion worth of property from tidal flood risk.

Three phases form part of the 2100 Plan. Currently in Phase 1 until 2035, maintaining and improving current defences, middle phase will see ‘low-scale’ raising of existing tidal defences and final phase to include ‘large-scale’ raising of new and existing tidal defences as well as possible new tidal flood barriers.

Other reports include: Bricks and Water

a plan of action for building homes and managing water in England,  launched in summer 2018.  The report aims to evaluate how water and housing policy is currently being implemented in England, and to set out an ambitious strategic plan for delivering water-efficient homes at volume, that are resilient to flooding.

After 36 written submissions / 49 oral submissions, found that: there was a complicated framework of nine pieces of primary legislation since privatisation / 357 pieces of secondary legislation in relation to water.