Great Tey Neighbourhood Plan 2022-2033 (Regulation 16)

3 VISION AND OBJECTIVES

Vision for Great Tey

3.1 In consultation with the local community, the following vision for Great Tey was established:

In 2033, Great Tey parish will remain a friendly, community-spirited, rural parish, enhanced by more contemporary facilities that appeal to all ages. The rural landscape, environment and safety of the parish's residents will be maintained and will have been enhanced through well designed, characterful and sustainable development, supported by movement networks and multifunctional green infrastructure which perpetuate the rural nature of the parish. The setting of Great Tey village will have been preserved, avoiding sprawl and amalgamation with other villages.

Neighbourhood Plan Objectives

3.2 The objectives of the Neighbourhood Plan as identified through engagement with the community are as follows:

• Objective 1: To ensure high quality design of development that reflects the character of Great Tey as a rural community.
• Objective 2: Improve the health and wellbeing of the community by maximising access to the countryside through multifunctional green infrastructure for all and ensuring clean, active and sustainable transport links.
• Objective 3: To minimise the environmental impact of development both in terms of adapting and mitigating against a changing climate and delivering net gain in biodiversity.
• Objective 4: To enhance the viability and range of infrastructure, services and community facilities in Great Tey.

3.3 The sections that follow provide the policies that make up the Neighbourhood Plan. These are required to have regard to national planning policies and guidance and to be in general conformity with the strategic policies of the Colchester Local Plan. They should also not duplicate existing planning policies. With the Colchester Local Plan Section 2 having been adopted in July 2022, the existing policy framework at the borough level is up-to-date and comprehensive. Many of the general matters that the Neighbourhood Plan might otherwise address through its policies are already dealt with by the Colchester Local Plan Section 2. It is therefore not necessary or appropriate to duplicate these matters, even if they are of importance to the community of Great Tey. The Neighbourhood Plan has sought where possible to identify any existing policies which help to address the Plan's objectives.

Design codes and guidelines for design landscaping, access and movement and sustainability

3.4 The local community of Great Tey was clear that the character of the village and its surroundings was one of the major assets of life in the parish. People value how attractive Great Tey is and want new development to fit in with this.

3.5 To provide a clear understanding of the nature of design issues that new development must consider in order to assemble high quality schemes, the Great Tey Design Guidelines and Codes report was commissioned. This identified a series of design principles that are specific to Great Tey parish as well as some principles that could be applied more generally in any location. In total, 33 design 'codes' have been identified under five themes:

Design Codes for Great Tey village
 

Design Codes for new development on larger sites

Design codes on sustainability for new developments in Great Tey Parish

3.6 The Neighbourhood Plan addresses each of these as far as they relate to achieving the Plan's objectives:

• Section 4 addresses design/built form, landscaping, and generally being in keeping with local character (design codes under themes DC.01 and DC04)
• Section 5 addresses access and movement (design codes under theme DC.02)
• Section 6 addresses biodiversity, open spaces and sustainability of development (design codes under themes DC.03 and DC.05)

3.7 Whilst all the guidance should apply from the Design Codes and Guidelines Report, the policies in Sections 4 to 6 specifically identify the most important aspects as identified by the local community.

3.8 Throughout the Plan items that are not directly addressed by planning policy are considered as 'non-policy actions'.

3.9 It is important that development proposals – and particularly major developments (as defined by the NPPF) – actively demonstrate how they have been informed by these design codes. Their purpose is not to expect all development to slavishly adhere to all codes in all circumstances; rather it is to inform development so that what is built represents high quality development in the context of Great Tey. In this regard, the most important site that must demonstrate it has been fully informed by these design codes and the policies in this Neighbourhood Plan is the Colchester Local Plan Section 2 site allocation for approximately 30 dwellings on land off Greenfield Drive (Policy SS8). This specifically intends that the Neighbourhood Plan shapes the character of development.