Statement of Community Involvement

Ended on the 4 March 2024

2. Community Involvement in the Local Plan

2.1 As part of the preparation for the now-adopted Local Plan, the Council undertook extensive public consultation. This included touring exhibitions, public meetings, interactive workshop sessions, leaflets being sent to residents' houses, radio advertising, meetings in schools and extensive press coverage. The Council has, over these years, promoted a level of publicity and active engagement far in excess of that required by the government's planning regulations and far more extensive than most local planning authorities in Essex. Despite these efforts, there have been continued accusations from residents that the Council has not done enough to involve them in the process.

2.2 The comments received in response to the last public consultation exercises and the active engagement with community representatives including all of our District Councillors and Town and Parish Councils demonstrate positive community involvement. These comments helped to shape the Council's policies and proposals contained in the adopted Local Plan

2.3 The updated Local Plan will have to include proposals to deliver more homes in the district until the 2041. To meet the objectively assessed need for housing, the Council will need to identify housing sites in locations that may not be popular with all residents, even if they are technically suitable for development and would help to support the economy of the district.

Local Plan preparation process proposed

Stage One

regulation 18

Further scoping and gathering evidence

Development of policy options

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The Council will invite the input of relevant stakeholders in updating and gathering further evidence depending on the issues concerned.

The Council will consider a range of possible options for new proposals and policies and residents and other stakeholders will be invited to comment on the Council’s ‘preferred’ options.

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Consider the received responses and make any necessary amendments to the Local Plan document. 

Stage 2

Regulation 19

Publication of the proposed submission plan

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The revised Local Plan will be published for six weeks statutory consultation before it is submitted to the Secretary of State.

Regulation 20​​​​​​down arrow

Representations on the published draft Local Plan are sent to the Council for consideration and analysis to be published in a consultation statement.

Stage 3

Regulation 22

Submission of the Local Plan document for independent examination

Stage 4

Consultation on modifications
(if needed)

Stage 5

Inspector’s Report

Stage 6

Adoption of the Local Plan document

Proposed communication techniques for the Local Plan process

2.4 The following tables set out the communication techniques that the Council will employ to both notify and engage residents and other stakeholders in the next stages of the Local Plan process from the initial consultation on preferred options through to the final adoption of the document. More details of these stakeholder groups and these communication techniques are set out in Appendices 1 and 2 respectively.

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Stage 1

Stage 2

Stage 3

Stages 4-6

Stakeholder Group

Consultation on the Local Plan: Preferred Options.

Consultation on the Local Plan: Proposed Submission Draft.

Notifications on the submission of the Local Plan for Examination by a Planning Inspector.

Communications about the process of examination and notification about the adoption of the plan.

Members of the public

Residents directly affected by new strategic development sites

(including communities outside of Tendring)

Media and publicity

Neighbour notification and/or site notice*

Exhibitions

Consultation document (available to view online, at Council offices and at libraries)

Representation form

Interactive website

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 1 consultation)

Final consultation document (available to view online, at Council offices and at libraries)

Representation form

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 2 consultation)

Focussed changes document - if needed (available to view online, at Council offices and at libraries)

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 2 consultation)

Residents in communities affected by new strategic development sites

(including communities outside of Tendring)

Media and publicity

Leaflets to properties in affected communities.

Exhibitions

Consultation document (available to view online, at Council offices and at libraries)

Interactive website

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 1 consultation)

Final consultation document (available to view online, at Council offices and at libraries)

Representation form

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 2 consultation)

Focussed changes document - if needed (available to view online, at Council offices and at libraries)

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 2 consultation)

Hard to reach groups (see Chapter 7)

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letter to schools and churches

Offer to speak to groups of students

Interactive website

Letters/e-mails to special interest groups

Representation form

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 1 consultation)

Final consultation document (available to view online, at Council offices and at libraries)

Representation form

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 2 consultation)

Focussed changes document - if needed (available to view online, at Council offices and at libraries)

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 2 consultation)

Other residents

Media and Publicity

E-mails/Letters to residents registered on the Council's planning database.

Interactive website

Representation form

Media and Publicity

E-mails/Letters to residents that responded to the stage 1 consultation

Representation form

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 2 consultation)

Focussed changes document - if needed (available to view online, at Council offices and at libraries)

Media and publicity

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 2 consultation)

Technical Stakeholders

Technical Stakeholders

(including government agencies, neighbouring authorities and other technical/statutory consultees)

E-mail/Letters

Meetings with relevant bodies.

Consultation document (to be viewed online or paper copies provided on request)

Workshops/discussion groups

E-mail/Letters

Final Consultation Document (to be viewed online or paper copies provided on request)

E-mails/Letters

Focussed changes document (if needed)

E-mails/Letters

Business, Landowners and Developers

Business, Landowners & Developers

E-mails/Letters

Meetings with relevant bodies.

Consultation document (to be viewed online)

E-mails/Letters

Consultation document (to be viewed online)

E-mails/Letters

Focussed changes document (if needed)

E-mails/Letters

Community Representatives

District Councillors

Letters

Consultation Document

Representation Form

Letters

Consultation Document

Representation Form

E-mails/Letters

Focussed changes document (if needed)

E-mails/Letters

Town & Parish Councils

(including those adjoining Tendring)

Letters

Consultation Document

Representation Form

Meetings with Councils affected by the new strategic allocations.

Interactive website

Opportunity for Town and Parish Councils to hold their own public meetings or exhibitions with assistance from TDC officers.

Letters

Consultation Document

Representation Form

Letters

Consultation Document

Representation Form

E-mails/Letters

Other Community Groups

(including voluntary groups, specialist groups, residents' groups and others)

E-mails/Letters to residents registered on the Council's planning database.

Interactive website

Representation form

E-mails/Letters to residents that responded to the stage 1 consultation

Representation form

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 2 consultation)

Focussed changes document - if needed (available to view online, at Council offices and at libraries)

E-mails/Letters (to residents that responded to the stage 2 consultation)

*Neighbour notification and/or site notice - This takes place on a non-statutory and discretionary basis. Neighbours are notified on the basis that, in the opinion of the Planning Officer, they are affected to a material extent by the proposed development. Normally such notifications will be limited to properties which share a common boundary with the proposed development site. However for some strategic development sites which have a greater impact on their locality it may, at the Planning Officer's discretion, be appropriate to notify properties on the opposite side of the road or to provide a site notice.

Community Infrastructure Levy (CIL)

2.5 Community Infrastructure (CIL) is a method by which the Council can secure financial contributions from developers toward the infrastructure needed to support growth. The Council intends to prepare and consult upon an Infrastructure Delivery Plan and CIL Charging Schedule document alongside the Local Plan which will explain how the mechanism will work and how much developers will be charged per square metre of development proposed. It is likely that businesses, landowners and developers will be the main stakeholders that wish to comment on this document as it could have financial implications for their proposals.

Sustainability Appraisal, Strategic Environmental Assessment

2.6 Local Plans and some other planning documents must also be accompanied by a 'Sustainability Appraisal' and 'Strategic Environmental Assessment'. Sustainability Appraisal is a requirement of section 19 of the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and must be undertaken for each stage of the plan-making process to ensure that the plan does everything it can to achieve sustainable development. Many of the requirements for sustainability appraisals happen to overlap with some of the requirements in the Environmental Assessment of Plans and Programmes Regulations 2004, which gives effect to European Directive 2001/42/EC on the assessment of the effects of certain plans and programmes on the environment. It will therefore be a requirement of both UK and European Law to appraise the sustainability and environmental effects of proposals in the Local Plan and other planning documents. Therefore, when Local Plans and other relevant documents are published for consultation, the Council will also publish a joint Sustainability Appraisal and Strategic Environmental Assessment and will invite comments on that document.

For instructions on how to use the system and make comments, please see our help guide.
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