2 May 2020

Uttlesford District Council withdraw Local Plan

Following the examination of the Uttlesford Local Plan, Inspectors Louise Crosby MA MRTPI and Elaine Worthington BA (Hons) MT MUED MRTPI wrote to Stephen Miles, planning policy team leader at Uttlesford District Council, stating:

“Unfortunately, despite the additional evidence that has been submitted during the examination and all that we have now read and heard in the examination, including the suggested main modifications to the plan put forward by the council, we have significant concerns in relation to the soundness of the plan.

“In particular, we are not persuaded that there is sufficient evidence to demonstrate that the garden communities, and thus the overall spatial strategy, have been justified. We therefore cannot conclude that these fundamental aspects of the plan are sound.

“This is of major importance in this case, given the large scale and long-term nature of the garden community developments, combined with the fact that they would be the primary source of housing in the district for the next 30 to 40 years.”

At an Extraordinary Council Meeting (ECM) on Thursday 30 April Councillors decided  to withdraw the Local Plan and start work on preparing a new plan for the district.

It will be interesting to see how this impacts the decision of Inspector Roger Clews in relation to the neighbouring Braintree Local Plan and the North Essex Garden Communities.