Residents are invited to take part in formulating the new Local Plan

The Group will meet regularly to discuss matters relating to development of a new plan for Basildon Borough

by
Cllr Dr Richard Moore, Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning & Infrastructure

Basildon Council is currently developing its new Local Plan and, as part of this process, we would like to invite residents of the borough to take an active role in its formation.

This follows our decision back in March to formally withdraw the previous Submission Local Plan. We took this decision, in the teeth of fierce opposition from Labour and the Independents.

"Basildon Council is currently developing its new Local Plan and, as part of this process, we would like to invite residents of the borough to take an active role in its formation."

Basildon Conservatives have been consistent in challenging the inflated housing numbers imposed upon us, with the backing of local MPs, and given the various changes that have taken place in recent years and with encouraging signals coming from Central Government, we decided that it was right that we take this opportunity to withdraw the plan and fundamentally re-think our approach.

A Local Plan is a document that sets out how development, including housing, business construction and infrastructure like roads, school and health facilities, can best benefit the area the Council is responsible for. Targets for development are set nationally by Government and the Local Plan is the approach by which those targets can best be met for a specific area, taking into consideration the needs of the local population and the priorities for the area.

Local councils have to produce a Local Plan by law and they have to cover a period of at least 15 years, so it is very important that we get this right. We want to make sure development in our area is well thought out and that our Local Plan works in the best way for the area.

Basildon Conservatives believe that we need to reconsider our approach to the release of Green Belt and the previous Labour-Independent Administration's plans to intensify high rise, high density development.

"I would like to invite all those who have an interest in the development of the Local Plan to have a say and ensure that their views are heard."

Another deficiency in the previous plan preparation process was that there were, in our view, insufficient opportunities for local residents to give direct input into the development of the Draft Local Plan. 

To that end, I would like to invite all those who have an interest in the development of the Local Plan to have a say and ensure that their views are heard. As part of this, we will be setting up a Resident Focus Group and convening meetings throughout the development of the new Draft Local Plan to ensure residents are able to discuss in detail all elements of the plan and make sure that their views and opinions inform our decisions.

If you would be interested in joining our focus group and help shape the Basildon Borough Local Plan, I would be delighted to hear from you. We will hold a meeting next month to go into more detail about the importance of the Local Plan for the borough, the current position and next steps and discuss the role of the focus group going forward.

If you would like to take part, please register your interest by emailing communications@basildon.gov.uk. I look forward to working with local residents to ensure that the next iteration of the Local Plan is one that delivers on the hopes and aspirations of the people of Basildon.