A motion calling for an inquiry into Uttlesford’s planning regime will be debated by next Tuesday’s meeting of the full council. The motion has been tabled by the Liberal Democrats in response to growing public concern at repeated u-turns on the local plan and what was seen recently as attempted manipulation of a planning application for 800 homes at Elsenham.
The motion is reproduced below. The council meeting begins at 7.30 p.m. on Tuesday December 10th at the London Road council offices in Saffron Walden.
UTTLESFORD’S LOCAL PLAN
The council
- notes continuing and growing public concern expressed in the local press and directly to members about the way in which the council is preparing the district’s Local Plan;
- notes the formation of Uttlesford United Residents and resolves to consider seriously its messages to the council;
- notes the challenge at the planning committee on November 20th by a Queen’s Council over the conduct of a planning application for 800 homes at Elsenham/Henham;
- is concerned that the basis of the current consultation agreed by the cabinet to increase housing numbers and to locate these may be subject to challenge because the related consultation has excluded comment from the public on proposals in the extant draft Local Plan;
- resolves to set up an inquiry involving independent persons and external parties into the formulation and determination of the Local Plan and related matters; membership to be agreed on an all party basis;
- requires the results of the inquiry to be reported by March 2014.
A lot will depend on exactly how the Chair will decide to handle this motion. It would be well for the council leadership to allow a full debate of each clause.
I would be concerned only as to the timing of this. Would it not be tempting for Taylor Wimpey to use this action to point out to the national inspectorate, currently considering the decision to refuse their planning application at Bentfield Green, that UDC is not making sound decisions? It is not the planning committee that we have concerns over rather the unelected planning officers and back office tactics but by calling the whole council into disrepute decisions that we have supported and agreed with will also be reviewed and questioned as well as the ones we didn’t go along with.
The basis of the new Local Plan is fatally flawed. UDC have ‘objectively assessed’ the Uttelsford economy as a high job growth, high homes need economy when it is not. From that they conclude that we need 523 homes per year for 20 years. ALL available evidence shows it is a low jobs growth economy leading to an actual housing need based on LOCAL needs of 140-160 homes per year. Dunmow Neighbourhood Planning Group has the relevant data.
My understanding is that UDC based its previous housing projection on data which was deliberately constrained by the number of new jobs in the district – which are indeed relatively low – and which ignored the inmigration of people who come to live here but have jobs in places like Cambridge and London. It was artificially low. The council has now admitted that it had chosen a flawed approach. I suspect more people come to live here but work elsewhere than take up any growth in jobs in the district. It has now chosen a number – 523 – which takes into account inmigration of commuters from a table which it has known about for at least 18 months. The question remains whether the use of the precise figure 523 homes per annum is the most appropriate one or whether it has been chosen in a panic because so much time has been wasted since the last consultation in summer 2012 rather than carrying out a methodical assessment during that time.