An update by me on the Cambridge Road planning saga is long overdue. Here in summary is what has been happening in the past year:

• 18 November 2015 – fourth planning application at 14 Cambridge Road for 10 dwellings and 2 commercial buildings refused by Uttlesford Planning Committee.
• 26-27 April 2016 – appeal hearing on 14 Cambridge Road refusal
• 17 June 0216 – decision notice from the inspector dismissing the appeal (and subsequently rejecting a claim by the appellant against the council for costs).

So what next? Councillors remain convinced that development at this location must improve and not aggravate the traffic congestion, road safety and parking situation on Cambridge Road. I remain committed to getting direct vehicular access into the Crafton Green car park.

The previous applicant and appellant will be trying again to get approval of what they hope will be viewed as a better scheme. They seem more amenable to talks with local people and their representatives. So far I have seen no new proposals, although Stansted Mountfichet Parish Council was given a presentation last week of two schemes the developer has in mind. I will reserve my position on those until I am shown them; though from what I have heard, they may be repeating past mistakes.

What I have been sent is an architect’s set of plans for a scheme that would offer much that would, I feel sure, satisfy the local community. I am also informed – though I cannot verify this – that it would meet the developer’s and landowner’s financial value that they hope to gain.

The scheme is for sheltered (elderly people) residential apartments instead of detached family homes. The location is best suited for elderly people as there are shops and other services very nearby. I have been sent three drawings by the architect that can all be seen at the following links and best viewed by rotating them anti-clockwise into landscape orientation:

1. An overview of the Cambridge Road/Crafton Green area
2. A close-up plan of the site showing parking on the approach road for the public and Tesco, and access to the Crafton Green car park in a one-way system that would take vehicles out into Chapel Hill
3. Some detail of the apartments.

This scheme will need a promoter to apply for planning permission and to deliver it. It’s still to be seen whether that is possible. Win-win?