Uttlesford Housing options: Consultation dates announced

Residents are being invited to express their views on Uttlesford District Council’s Core Strategy for housing growth.

The Core Strategy is key to steering and shaping the district’s development, identifying broad locations for new housing and employment growth as well as defining areas which should be protected.

The six-week public consultation period on the Council’s strategy will begin on Friday 30 November and the deadline for comments is Friday 11 January 2008. (A six-week period is obligatory. The start of consultation has been delayed until 30 November so there is an opportunity to comment either pre or post Christmas).  Information will be sent to all residents encouraging people to explain why they support or object to the Council's preferred policies and options for growth.

Uttlesford District Council has to provide a total of 9,672 new homes in Uttlesford for the period 2001 to 2024. Of these some 5,500 have either already been built, have planning permission or are allocated for development in previous plans. This means the Council is required to find sites for 4,200 additional new homes. This figure was set by the government in endorsing the East of England Plan for future housing.

Following the Environment Committee last night (Tuesday 30 October), four options will be put forward for public consultation:

Option 1: distributing development between the main centres of Saffron Walden, Great Dunmow, and Stansted Mountfitchet;

Option 2: distributing development across these three main centres and the settlements of Newport, Elsenham, Thaxted, Great Chesterford and Little Canfield/Takeley;

Option 3: planning a similar pattern of development, though with significantly less development at Little Canfield/Takeley and a significant increase in development at Elsenham as the start of a new settlement;

Option 4: creating a new settlement north east of Elsenham with a smaller number of homes divided between larger settlements, and the remainder in villages around the district

Concentrating development in a proposed new settlement north east of Elsenham was confirmed as the preferred option for new housing in the district at the Environment Committee last night (Tuesday 30 October).  It would result in a smaller number of homes being divided between larger settlements with the remainder in villages. Other options on which residents views are being sought involve a larger number of homes to be built in the towns and villages of Saffron Walden, Great Dunmow and Stansted Mountfitchet.

The consultation document will be available for viewing at Uttlesford District Council’s Saffron Walden offices, at the Thaxted and Great Dunmow Customer Service Centres, at libraries across the district and on the council’s website www.uttlesford.gov.uk It will also be widely publicised in local newspapers.

Initial consultation on options started in summer 2006 with a questionnaire sent to all residents. The consultation on the preferred option is part of an on going process. It is expected the Council will decide which strategy to submit to the Government in Spring 2008.

The Council’s Head of Planning and Housing Strategy Roger Harborough, said: “The preferred option stage aims to further engage the community, business and infrastructure providers in the preparation of a sound plan. It will give greater clarity on the issues, and allow the Council to take appropriate actions as it moves towards honing its proposals.  It is an opportunity for everyone to respond to the options proposed and bring forward alternatives, provided they fit in with the Council’s Core Strategy.  The Council thinks it is important that the pattern of development helps secure the right infrastructure to serve the step change in growth that it is having to accommodate.”