Planning in Tendring

Place Shaping Principles

All new development must meet high standards of urban and architectural design. Development frameworks, masterplans, design codes, and other design guidance documents will be prepared in consultation with stakeholders where they are needed to support this objective. All new development should reflect the following place shaping principles, where applicable: a) Respond positively to local character and context to preserve and enhance the quality of existing places and their environs; b) Provide buildings that exhibit individual architectural quality within well-considered public and private realms; c) Protect and enhance assets of historical or natural value; d) Incorporate biodiversity creation and enhancement measures; e) Create well-connected places that prioritise the needs of pedestrians, cyclists and public transport services above use of the private car; f) Provide a mix of land uses, services and densities with well-defined public and private spaces to create sustainable well-designed neighbourhoods; g) Enhance the public realm through additional landscaping, street furniture and other distinctive features that help to create a sense of place; h) Provide streets and spaces that are overlooked and active and promote inclusive access; i) Include parking facilities that are well integrated as part of the overall design and are adaptable if levels of private car ownership fall; j) Provide an integrated and connected network of biodiverse public open space and green and blue infrastructure, thereby helping to alleviate recreational pressure on designated sites; k) Include measures to promote environmental sustainability including addressing energy and water efficiency, and provision of appropriate water and wastewater and flood mitigation measures including the use of open space to provide flora and fauna rich sustainable drainage solutions; and l) Protect the amenity of existing and future residents and users with regard to noise, vibration, smell, loss of light, overbearing and overlooking.

Employment

A strong, sustainable and diverse economy will be promoted across North Essex with the local planning authorities pursuing a flexible approach to economic sectors showing growth potential across the Plan period. In order to meet the requirements for office, research & development, industrial, storage and distribution uses and to maintain appropriate flexibility in provision to meet the needs of different sectors, Section 2 of each plan will allocate employment land to ensure that provision is made within the ranges set out in the table below. Hectares of employment land required for office, research & development, industrial, storage and distribution uses: Higher Growth Scenario Baseline 43.3 20.9 Braintree 30 22.0 Colchester 20.0 12.0 Tendring 93.3 54.9 North Essex

Recreational disturbance Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy (RAMS)

Contributions will be secured from development towards mitigation measures in accordance with the Essex Coast Recreational disturbance Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy 2018-2038 (RAMS).

Other Requirements

17. The delivery of smart, innovative and sustainable water efficiency/re-use solutions that fosters climate resilience and a 21st century approach towards water supply, water and waste water treatment and flood risk management. Taking a strategic approach to flood risk through the use of Strategic Flood Risk Assessments and the updated Climate Projections 2019 and identifying opportunities for Natural Flood Risk Management. Provision of improvements to waste water treatment plant including an upgrade to the Colchester Waste Water Treatment Plan and off-site drainage improvements aligned with the phasing of the development within the plan period and that proposed post 2033. To ensure new development does not have an adverse effect on any European Protected or nationally important site and complies with environmental legislation (notably the Water Framework Directive and the Habitats Directive), the required waste water treatment capacity must be available ahead of the occupation of dwellings. 18. Landscape buffers between the site and existing development in Colchester, Wivenhoe and Elmstead Market. 19. Conserve and where appropriate enhance the significance of heritage assets (including any contribution made by their settings) both within and surrounding the site. Designated heritage assets within the garden community area include Grade II listed Allen's Farmhouse, Ivy Cottage, Lamberts, and three buildings at Hill farmhouse. Designated heritage assets nearby include the grade I listed Church of St Anne and St Lawrence, grade II* listed Wivenhoe House, Elmstead Hall and Spring Valley Mill and numerous grade II listed buildings as well as the grade II listed Wivenhoe Registered Park and Garden. Harm to the significance of a designated heritage asset should be avoided in the first instance. 20. Avoidance, protection and/or enhancement of biodiversity assets within and surrounding the site; including Bullock Wood SSSI, Ardleigh Gravel Pits SSSI, Wivenhoe Pits SSSI and Upper Colne Marshes SSSI and relevant European protected sites. Contributions will be secured towards mitigation measures in accordance with the Essex Coast Recreational disturbance Avoidance and Mitigation Strategy. Wintering bird surveys will be undertaken at the appropriate time of year as part of the DPD preparation to identify any offsite functional habitat. Should any be identified, development must firstly avoid impacts. Where this is not possible, development must be phased to deliver habitat creation and management either on- or off-site to mitigate any significant impacts. Any such habitat must be provided and fully functional before any development takes place which would affect significant numbers of SPA birds. 21. Provision of appropriate buffers along strategic road and rail infrastructure to protect new development. 22. Provision of appropriate design and infrastructure that incorporates the highest standards of innovation in energy efficiency and technology to reduce impact of climate change, water efficiency (with the aim of being water neutral in areas of serious water stress), and sustainable waste / recycling management facilities. 23. Measures to support the development of the new community including provision of community development support workers (or other provision) for a minimum of ten years from initial occupation of the first homes and appropriate community governance structures. 24. Establishment at an early stage in the development of the garden community, of appropriate and sustainable long-term governance and stewardship arrangements for community assets including green space, public realm areas and community and other relevant facilities; such arrangements to be funded by the development and include community representation to ensure residents have a stake in the long term development, stewardship and management of their community. 25. Allocation of additional land within the garden community, to accommodate University expansion, which is at least equivalent in size to the allocation in the Colchester Local Development Framework Site Allocations document October 2010.

Meeting Housing Needs

The local planning authorities will identify sufficient deliverable sites, developable sites and/or broad locations for their respective plan period, to meet the housing requirements in the table below, and will incorporate additional provision to ensure flexibility and choice and competition for land. Each authority will maintain a sufficient supply of deliverable sites to provide for at least five years' worth of housing, plus an appropriate buffer in accordance with national policy, and will work proactively with applicants to bring forward sites that accord with the overall spatial strategy and relevant policies in the plan. The annual housing requirement figures set out below will be used as the basis for assessing each authority's five-year housing land supply, subject to any adjustments in Section 2 of each plan to address any undersupply since 2013. The authorities will review their housing requirements regularly in accordance with national policy requirements, and in doing so will have regard to the housing needs of the wider area. Total minimum housing requirement for the plan period (2013 – 2033): Braintree 14,320 (716 per annum), Colchester 18,400 (920 per annum), Tendring 11,000 (550 per annum), Total 43,720 (2,186 per annum).

Development & Delivery of a New Garden Community in North Essex

The following new garden community is proposed at the broad location shown on Map 10.2. Tendring/Colchester Borders, a new garden community which will deliver between 2,200 and 2,500 homes, 7 hectares of employment land and provision for Gypsies and Travellers within the Plan period (as part of an expected overall total of between 7,000 and 9,000 homes and 25 hectares of employment land to be delivered beyond 2033). The garden community will be holistically and comprehensively planned with a distinct identity that responds directly to its context and is of sufficient scale to incorporate a range of homes, employment, education & community facilities, green space and other uses to enable residents to meet the majority of their day-to-day needs, reducing the need for outward commuting. It will be comprehensively planned from the outset, with delivery phased to achieve the whole development, and will be underpinned by a comprehensive package of infrastructure. A Development Plan Document (DPD) will be prepared for the garden community, containing policies setting out how the new community will be designed, developed and delivered in phases, in accordance with the principles in paragraphs i-xiv below. No planning consent for development forming part of the garden community will be granted until the DPD has been adopted. All development forming part of the garden community will comply with these principles. i. Community and stakeholder participation in the design and delivery of the garden community from the outset and a long-term community engagement and activation strategy. ii. The public sector working pro-actively and collaboratively with the private sector to design, and bring forward the garden community, deploying new models of delivery where appropriate and ensuring that the cost of achieving the following is borne by landowners and those promoting the developments: (a) securing a high-quality of place-making, (b) ensuring the timely delivery of both on-site and off-site infrastructure required to address the impact of the new community, and (c) providing and funding a mechanism for future stewardship, management, maintenance and renewal of community infrastructure and assets. Where appropriate, developers will be expected to contribute towards publicly-funded infrastructure, including a contribution towards the A120-A133 link road. Given the scale of and time period for development of the new garden community, the appropriate model of delivery will need to secure a comprehensive approach to delivery in order to achieve the outcomes outlined in points (a) - (c) in this paragraph, avoid a piecemeal approach to development, provide the funding and phasing of both development and infrastructure, and be sustainable and accountable in the long term. iii. Promotion and execution of the highest quality of planning, design and management of the built and public realm so that the Garden Community is characterised as a distinctive place that capitalises on local assets, respects its context,and establishes an environment that promotes health, happiness and well-being. iv. Sequencing of development and infrastructure provision (both on-site and off-site) to ensure that the latter is provided ahead of or in tandem with the development it supports to address the impacts of the new garden community, meet the needs of its residents and establish sustainable travel patterns. To ensure new development does not have an adverse effect on any European Protected or nationally important sites and complies with environmental legislation (notably the Water Framework Directive and the Habitats Directive), the required waste water treatment capacity must be available ahead of the occupation of dwellings. v. Development that provides for a truly balanced and inclusive community and meets the housing needs of local people including a mix of dwelling sizes, tenures and types, provision for self- and custom-built homes, provision for the aging population; and provision for Gypsies and Travellers; and that meets the requirements of those most in need including the provision of 30% affordable housing in the garden community. vi. Provide and promote opportunities for employment within the new community and within sustainable commuting distance of it. vii. Plan the new community around a step change in integrated and sustainable transport systems for the North Essex area that put walking, cycling and rapid public transit networks and connections at the heart of growth in the area, encouraging and incentivising more sustainable active travel patterns. viii. Structure the new community to create sociable, vibrant and walkable neighbourhoods with equality of access for all to a range of community services and facilities including health, education, retail, culture, community meeting spaces, multi-functional open space, sports and leisure facilities. ix. Develop specific garden community parking approaches and standards that help promote the use of sustainable transport and make efficient use of land. x. Create distinctive environments which are based on comprehensive assessments of the surrounding environment and that celebrate natural and historic environments and systems, utilise a multi-functional green-grid to create significant networks of new green infrastructure including a new country park at the garden community, provide a high degree of connectivity to existing corridors and networks and enhance biodiversity. xi. Secure a smart and sustainable approach that fosters climate resilience and a 21st century environment in the design and construction of the garden community to secure net gains in local biodiversity, highest standards of energy efficiency and innovation in technology to reduce the impact of climate change, the incorporation of innovative water efficiency/re-use measures (with the aim of being water neutral in areas of serious water stress), and sustainable waste and mineral management. xii. Ensure that the costs and benefits of developing a garden community are shared by all landowners, with appropriate measures being put in place to equalise the costs and land contributions. xiii. Consideration of potential on-site mineral resources through a Minerals Resource Assessment as required by the Minerals Planning Authority. xiv. Establishment at an early stage in the development of the garden community, of appropriate and sustainable long-term governance and stewardship arrangements for community assets including green space, public realm areas and community and other relevant facilities; such arrangements to be funded by the development and include community representation to ensure residents have a stake in the long term development, stewardship and management of their community.

Tendring/Colchester Borders Garden Community

The Development Plan Document (DPD) required for the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community by Policy SP8 will define the boundary of the new community and the amount of development it will contain. The adoption of the DPD will be contingent on the completion of a Heritage Impact Assessment carried out in accordance with Historic England guidance. The Heritage Impact Assessment will assess the impact of proposed allocations upon the historic environment, inform the appropriate extent and capacity of the development and establish any mitigation measures necessary. The DPD will be produced in consultation with the local community and stakeholders and will include a concept plan showing the disposition and quantity of future land-uses, and give a three dimensional indication of the urban design and landscape parameters which will be incorporated into any future planning applications; together with a phasing and implementation strategy which sets out how the rate of development will be linked to the provision of the necessary social, physical and environmental infrastructure to ensure that the respective phases of the development do not come forward until the necessary infrastructure has been secured. The DPD and any application for planning permission for development forming part of the garden community must be consistent with the requirements set out in this policy. For the Plan period up to 2033, housing delivery from the garden community, irrespective of its actual location, will be distributed equally between Colchester Borough Council and Tendring District Council. If, after taking into account its share of delivery from the garden community, either of those authorities has a shortfall in delivery against the housing requirement for its area, it will need to make up the shortfall within its own area. It may not use the other authority's share of delivery from the garden community to make up the shortfall. The DPD and any planning application will address the following principles and requirements in the design, development and delivery of the new garden community: A. Place-Making and Design Quality 1. The development of a new garden community to high standards of design and layout drawing on its context and the considerable assets within its boundaries such as woodland, streams and changes in topography, as well as the opportunities afforded by the proximity of the University of Essex campus to create a new garden community that is innovative, contemporary and technologically enabled, set within a strong green framework with new neighbourhood centres at its heart. It will be designed and developed to have its own identity and be as self-sustaining as possible recognising its location close to the edge of Colchester. It will secure appropriate integration with Colchester and the nearby University of Essex campus by the provision of suitable walking and cycling links and rapid public transport systems and connections to enable residents of the new community to have convenient access to town centre services and facilities in Colchester as well as Elmstead Market. Clear separation will be maintained between the new garden community and the nearby villages of Elmstead Market and Wivenhoe. Safeguarding the important green edge to Colchester will be essential with a new country park provided along the Salary Brook corridor and incorporating Churn Wood. 2. Detailed masterplans and design guidance, based on a robust assessment of historic and natural environmental constraints and opportunities for enhancement, will be adopted to inform and guide development proposals and planning applications for the garden community. B. Housing 3. A mix of housing types and tenures including self- and custom-build and starter homes will be provided on the site, including a minimum of 30% affordable housing. The affordable housing will be phased through the development. 4. New residential development will seek to achieve appropriate densities which reflect both context, place-making aspirations and opportunities.

Infrastructure & Connectivity

All development must be supported by the provision of the infrastructure, services and facilities that are identified to serve the needs arising from the development. The requirements in section A of this policy apply only to the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community, whilst the remaining sections B, C, D and E apply to all allocations and development proposals in the North Essex Authorities area. A. Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community 1. The Development Plan Document (DPD) for the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community will include: a) An infrastructure delivery strategy and phasing plan that sets out how infrastructure, services and facilities will be provided. Infrastructure delivery will align with each development phase and be supported by suitable mechanisms to deliver the infrastructure both on and off-site; b) Details of the design and delivery of Route 1 of the rapid transit system, and a programme for the integration of the garden community into the system. The route will be designed to accommodate future route enhancements and technology improvements; and c) Target modal shares for each transport mode and details of sustainable transport measures to support their achievement. 2. Before any planning approval is granted for development forming part of the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community, the following strategic transport infrastructure must have secured planning consent and funding approval: a) A120-A133 link road: and b) Route 1 of the rapid transit system as defined in the North Essex Rapid Transit System: From Vision to Plan document (July 2019). 3. Sustainable transport measures will be provided from first occupation at the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community to support the achievement of the target modal shares as defined in the DPD for the garden community. 4. Other strategic infrastructure requirements for the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community are set out in sections D, E and F of Policy SP9, and will be further defined in the DPD for the garden community. B. Transportation and Travel The local planning authorities will work with government departments, Highways England, Essex County Council, Network Rail, rail and bus operators, developers and other partners to deliver the following;

Presumption in Favour of Sustainable Development

When considering development proposals the Local Planning Authorities will take a positive approach that reflects the presumption in favour of sustainable development contained in the National Planning Policy Framework. They will always work pro-actively with applicants to find solutions which mean that proposals can be approved wherever possible, and to secure development that improves the economic, social and environmental conditions in the area. Development that complies with the Plan will be approved without delay, unless material considerations indicate otherwise.

Spatial Strategy for North Essex

Existing settlements will be the principal focus for additional growth across the North Essex Authorities area within the Local Plan period. Development will be accommodated within or adjoining settlements according to their scale, sustainability and existing role both within each individual district and, where relevant, across the wider strategic area. Future growth will be planned to ensure existing settlements maintain their distinctive character and role, to avoid coalescence between them and to conserve their setting. Re-use of previously developed land within settlements is an important objective, although this will be assessed within the broader context of sustainable development principles, particularly to ensure that development locations are accessible by a choice of means of travel. In Section 2 of its Local Plan each local planning authority will identify a hierarchy of settlements where new development will be accommodated according to the role of the settlement, sustainability, its physical capacity and local needs. Beyond the main settlements the authorities will support diversification of the rural economy and conservation and enhancement of the natural environment. As part of the sustainable strategy for growth, the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community will be developed and delivered at the broad location shown on Key Diagram 10.2 and on the Colchester and Tendring Local Plans Policies Maps. This new community will provide a strategic location for homes and employment within the Plan period in North Essex. The expectation is that substantial additional housing and employment development will be delivered in the Garden Community beyond the current Local Plan period.