Multi-Parish Statement to Local Plan Committee on 11th February 2026
APC Chair Mike Lambert has made a public statement on behalf of the 7 local Parishes to Aldham (Chappel, Copford with Easthorpe, Eight Ash Green, Gt Tey, Marks Tey and Wakes Colne) at the Local Plan Committee meeting.
Link to watch the proceedings is here https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ3R4Zv9R5c
You can skip to 32min 30secs for the response to Mike's statement from officers. Councillors Sara Naylor and William Sunnucks also made statements and the response of the Planning Officers to both were interesting - 1hr 25.50 and 1hr 35.30.
Statement to Local Plan Committee, 11th February 2026
Mike Lambert, Chair of Aldham Parish Council, and on behalf of Chappel, Copford with Easthorpe, Eight Ash Green, Gt Tey, Marks Tey and Wakes Colne Parish Councils
Good Evening. I address the Committee on behalf of the seven rural parishes west of Colchester. Together we form a wedge bounded by Braintree to the west (RH) at its widest extent, the A12/A120 to the south, the A1124 to the north and the tip, or pinch point, formed by junctions 25 and 26 on the A12.
Within this ‘wedge’ the Plan envisages three and a half thousand homes, doubling the population of our parishes. The Marks Tey Growth Area directly impacts four parishes, but all seven are interconnected by the principal roads through the area, by a network of rural roads carrying too much traffic now, inadequate bus services along the A1124, education provision, and social infrastructure, including GP surgeries. To the west, Braintree are consulting on 6,500 homes at Kelvedon/Feering and 2,850 at Halstead, with huge implications for our communities. For these reasons we believe our parishes need to be considered holistically and not as individual settlements. We have submitted a Joint Statement, and covering letter, to the Portfolio Holder for Planning seeking a positive engagement with the Council between now and the publication of the Reg.19 Draft, and await her response. The purpose is to help ensure the Draft Plan addresses the concerns we have all raised in our individual representations, including how development is phased. There is a great deal of realism and pragmatism across the seven Councils and our preferred outcome would be we are able to support the Draft Plan when published, not oppose it. We hope you can endorse this approach.
The second issue, is how the Council responds to speculative development over the next 9 months and any potential shortfall in the Five Year Housing Land Supply. All parishes are concerned by the decision in November to grant planning permission for 150 homes at Gt Horkesley (ref.250545). The application forms part of a larger site of 400 in the Preferred Options. As such it is contrary to the existing Local Plan, is piecemeal, and sets a precedent for further ad hoc releases prior to the Draft Plan being published. Furthermore, by granting permission now it is premature in not addressing the full requirements of the IADP and Viability Study, as there is no policy in place to secure the level of s106 funding required on greenfield sites such as this. The agreed s106 package is less than 50% of the £40k per dwelling identified in the Viability Assessment as needed to deliver the Plan.
If the Council is under pressure on housing numbers we believe the shortfall should be quantified and proactively managed, by identifying, and consulting on, which sites could come forward early to meet any predicted shortfall. An interim policy for such sites that sets out a s106 package to meet the requirements of the IADP, and especially the Active Travel element, would give certainty and discourage speculative applications seeking to ’get under the wire’. We hope the Committee will consider this approach and help remove an unwelcome threat to our communities. Thank you.