Planning news, allotments and more

Gardeners snap up brand new allotment plots

Representatives of Halstead Town Council and Braintree District Council visited Oak Road development recently to mark the handover of the allotments at the St Andrew’s Gate development in Halstead.

Braintree District Council Chairman Cllr Angela Kilmartin said: “Growing your own fruit and vegetables is a fantastic experience and is well known for promoting health and well-being.

“I am sure these allotments will bring a lot of joy to residents over the coming years so it was wonderful to be part of the opening. This council is proud to be able to secure community facilities like these through Section 106 agreements when planning permissions are granted for new housing developments.”

Halstead Town Council has taken on the letting of the plots. Since they became available to let they have already been snapped up by keen gardeners.

Simon Wood, Managing Director at David Wilson Homes Eastern Counties, said: “We were thrilled to be joined by the representatives of Halstead Town Council and Braintree District Council for the handover of the allotments at our St Andrew’s Gate development. The allotments are fantastic facilities for gardening enthusiasts to enjoy.”

High standard for design excellence recognised

We are thrilled to let you know that we are one of the finalists for the Royal Town Planning Institute East of England Awards for Planning Excellence 2020.

The joint submission with Strutt & Parker covers the work on the Local Development Order recently adopted for the Horizon 120 Business and Innovation Park being built in Great Notley, near Braintree.

The Local Development Order was recently adopted to encourage new businesses into the district and to create up to 2,000 jobs. This type of planning framework gives clarity and certainty to developers and streamlines the planning process making it easier for businesses to invest and relocate from elsewhere.

Horizon 120 will offer flexible business accommodation, state-of-the-art energy efficient buildings, best-in-class fibre-optic connectivity and electric vehicle charging points. A ‘central hub’ area to the north could be home to a new enterprise centre, café or restaurant and a facility which offers childcare provision. Proposals also include the creation of a green environment where roads and paths are tree-lined with green buffers and wildlife corridors.

We are one of 8 projects which have been nominated for this year’s awards. The winner will be announced in November.

Planning latest:

The Local Plan subcommittee was held last week (Thursday, 17 September). Housing Delivery was discussed and an update on the Local Plan Examination Process was given. Take a look at the agenda here. Watch the meeting here.

This evening there is a meeting of Planning Committee and they will be discussing an application for Towerlands, Panfield Road, Braintree. You can watch live from 7:15pm via www.braintree.gov.uk/youtube

Gridserve unveils major partnerships as electric forecourt nears completion

GRIDSERVE has announced more details of the retail outlets which will be part of its Electric Forecourt®.

Household brands including WHSmith, Costa Coffee, the Post Office, Booths, and Gourmade together with technology partners Tesla, ABB, and the AA will join forces with GRIDSERVE.

The UK’s first Electric Forecourt® which is due to open near Braintree this November was granted planning permission last year.

Read more.

Have you had your say yet?

If you’ve been following the progress of our Local Plan, you will know that in May 2020 the Planning Inspector wrote to us to say that the local plan can be made sound and one of the three proposed Garden Community could proceed, but two others should be removed.

The Inspector gave us and our partner authorities two options.

To propose and consult on main modifications to remove the Colchester / Braintree Borders and West of Braintree Garden Community proposals from the Plan; or
To withdraw the Plan from examination.

We have agreed to follow option one and consult on the Inspector’s proposed changes. This is a consultation held on his behalf.

A six week consultation will run until 5pm on the 9th October 2020.

Have your say.