Great Tey Neighbourhood Plan 2022-2033 (Regulation 16)
7 SERVICES, COMMERCE AND INFRASTRUCTURE
Objective 4: To enhance the viability and range of infrastructure, services and community facilities in Great Tey
7.1 Great Tey has a limited number of built community facilities; the Village Hall is the only public building. There are wider public spaces and the provision of public open space is required through the allocation of the land off Greenfield Drive in the Colchester Local Plan Section 2 (Policy SS8).
7.2 Alongside this a range of office- and workshop-based jobs are provided at the four small business bases in the parish. It is important that these are protected and opportunities given for new businesses and ways of working to be established.
POLICY GTTEY7: PROVISION AND ENHANCEMENT OF COMMUNITY AND BUSINESS FACILITIES
A. The provision and enhancement of community facilities and services in Great Tey that contribute to the quality of village life and improve the sustainability of the village are encouraged.
B. Outside the Tey Brook Farm Local Economic Area, proposals for the flexible use and/or expansion of existing buildings for community or office/workshop uses (including meeting spaces) will be permitted, subject to demonstrating good design and that they do not have a significant impact on the landscape.
7.3 The Great Tey Village Hall is very well used for a wide range of activities including the Great Tey Pre School, Rainbows and Brownies, Yoga, Winter bowls, dance classes, Post Office services and by the Parish Council. As the size of the community expands, the demands on the building will inevitably increase. This will not only increase the importance of insuring it is fit for purpose but will also mean that it may need to be expanded or re-provided on another site. The Village Hall is part of the fabric of the community and it is vital that it is allowed to adapt and grow as necessary.
7.4 The main employment area is at Tey Brook Farm; it is designated as a Local Economic Area in the Colchester Local Plan Section 2 (Policy SS8) which protects it for employment uses. There are others including those at the Teybrook Centre, Warren's Farm, East Gores Farm and Upp Hall Farm, but most workers in the parish commute out for employment in the larger urban centres such as Colchester, Braintree, Chelmsford and London. However, with the increase in home working which has partly been enabled by the Covid-19 pandemic, more people are working from home either full-time or part-time. This potentially creates a need for local workspaces and meeting spaces, particularly for those with limited space in their homes to dedicate to an office. Enabling the use of, in particular, underused spaces for such activities will help to sustain, albeit in a small way, the commercial base in Great Tey.
NON-POLICY ACTION C: MAINTAINING PREMISES AND SPACES OF VALUE TO THE COMMUNITY
- Great Tey Parish Council will undertake a comprehensive, 5-yearly audit of all public premises and spaces in Great Tey. This will inform a maintenance plan that will ensure that all public buildings and spaces are fit for purpose.
- Great Tey Parish Council will undertake a regular programme of ensuring that all hedges are cut, sight splays maintained, signs cleaning, public litter bins emptied and verges maintained.
Infrastructure
7.5 The local infrastructure – utilities, drains, broadband, telephone – is as important to the community of Great Tey as any other. In a rural community however, such facilities are often prioritised less by the providers, particularly when maintenance is required.
NON-POLICY ACTION D: MAINTAINING LOCAL INFRASTRUCTURE SERVICES
Great Tey Parish Council will lobby infrastructure providers to ensure that local infrastructure services are maintained and, where necessary, improved. This includes re-routing existing overhead cabling underground and ensuring that any new cabling is placed underground wherever possible.
7.6 It should be noted that these local infrastructure needs are different from nationally important infrastructure including the possible routing through the parish of electricity pylons to carry energy generated offshore from south Norfolk, Suffolk and north Essex to supply London, via Tilbury. This is a matter outside the influence of the Neighbourhood Plan.
View from St Barnabas Church looking south, across the proposed electricity pylon route
7.7 However, it is important to note that this matter is of concern to the community of Great Tey. The image below shows the view looking south from St Barnabas Church which is the preferred route for the electricity pylons. This is a landscape much valued by local people and any infrastructure provision should seek to follow a route that minimises its impact on this landscape.