The proposed 29% increase in homes mandated by the Government over the next 15 years is nearly three times what was proposed by the previous Government and thatitselfwas vehemently opposed across the Eastern Region by predominantly Conservative Councils and the Conservative-led Regional Assembly. Little wonder that the vast majority of people feel hugely let down by these proposals, despite promises before the last election of a greater say over their own communities in these matters. 

 

To make matters worse, the 29% increase for Tendring by 2026 is twice as much as the expected UK population increase of 14.5% by 2031. Putting this in terms that ourlocal people can understand, it will be close to the equivalent of building……… 

 

………a town the size of Frinton and Walton 

AND 

……..a town the size of Harwich and Dovercourt 

AND 

……..a town the size of Brightlingsea 

 

Whilst we accept the District’s proximity to London will lead to a greater increase than the national trend, we believe the Government’s proposals are grossly disproportionate and potentially of serious detriment to our area. We also note that there are a considerable number of empty and/or unsold properties in the area, providing a ready source of housing in the near future. 

 

This leads to our own suggested target of 9000 homes over the next 15 years. However, this is conditional on the bulk of the growth (around 6000 homes) being concentrated on a new conurbation, as we shall explain more later. The remainder of the growth will come using selective ‘in-fill’ from current land banks, brownfield sites and other similar sources, but with minimal impact on our current communities, large and small. 

 

 

Frating/Great Bromley (Hare Green/Oasis site, around the junctions of the A120, A133 and A133 spur) – 6000 

 

Elsewhere in the District, according to natural demand – 3000, weighted to the back end of the 15 year period to allow local housing demand to recover 

 

 

The Government’s proposal of 18000 homes is major development by any measure and even our proposal of 50% of that increase falls within that category. However, rather than force this development in large and indigestible chunks around all our communities (great and small), we believe that the bulk of the development should be based in a new conurbation towards the west of the District. 

 

There are many reasons for this, but the main and most compelling one is that, since time immemorial, humans have built their homes and places of work near major highways and byways, often at junctions of one or more of the same. It’s simply, but compellingly logical to do likewise. 

In addition, a glance at the map of Tendring shows a district divided in two, with no easy link between the north and south. This has had and continues to have a detrimental effect on our local economy. An exit on the south/westbound section of the A120 from Harwich on to the A133 to Clacton will not only open a vital new road link, but also create an opportunity to create a business and/or industrial park there to take advantage of the heavy logistics-driven traffic flows to and from the port of Harwich, to the greater economic benefit of all areas of Tendring. 

 

If a business park is going to be created at this junction, then it is also entirely logical that a new conurbation needs to be built close by. The site not only has the major road infrastructure in place, but a good basis for the minor road infrastructure too. The site also enjoys easy access to the proposed Science Park at Essex University and, with the new A12 junction at Cuckoo Farm, to the business parks to the north of Colchester. Upgrading the A133 to Weeley will create similar benefits. 

 

Furthermore, bus/rail links between Brightlingsea/Great Bentley/Hare Green and similar via Little Bromley to Manningtree would readily give both access to the local rail network within Tendring and to the mainline North and South-bound tracks without having to travel into Colchester itself. It is a well-known basis of economics that giving people the ability to move around more easily, whether by road, rail or bus, generates much greater powerful economic growth that reaches further and further as time goes on. As such, young people in our more isolated communities can benefit as well. 

 

Finally, by concentrating development on one major site, it offers opportunities for Tendring District Council. Through community infrastructure levies (over and above that for the development of schools and GP surgeries), new, more efficient District Council offices could be provided, moving TDC’s centre of operations to, well, a more central part of the District, with much easier access to all its major population centres. This, in turn, would allow the sale of the 1930’s Town Hall in Clacton, perhaps as part of a conference centre complex (thereby increasing year-round business in the town), and the Weeley site as well, perhaps for housing development, releasing substantial amounts of money to help upgrade other council buildings such as the leisure facilities in Dovercourt, Brightlingsea, Manningtree and Walton. 

 

 

 

Elsewhere, percentages should be proportionate according to the needs and wishes of the local communities. For the new conurbation, experience from elsewhere in the country should be sought to ensure all the advantages of sustainable 21st century urban living can be gained.