Please use authentic Traditional Architecture Design Codes as illustrated in my PDF umbrella Representation as these will support all key stakeholders ranging from property owners to the Local Authority itself and the community on strong economic, ecological and environmental grounds. Place a Ban on demolition of buildings constructed prior to 1950 and grant full protection of historic buildings, be these listed, Non-Designated Heritage Assets or otherwise.

Infrastructure needs to support shopping areas better

Colchester's town centre is dying, and will continue to do so until parking and transport is properly addressed. Shoppers have to pay for parking in central Colchester while it is free at the Tollgate. Ground level car parks near to transport hubs at St. Botolphs and Vineyard gate are being repurposed, and shoppers will be expected to use multi-storey car parks elsewhere. Even with a new RTS the Tollgate will still be more accessible.

The problem can be mitigated (but not solved) by requiring new retail developments to charge for parking, as in many towns such as Romford.

Shopping Area Map page 899/1342
Church Road shopping goes too far west
Barfield Road shopping area in middle of south side area should extend back to Folly/FP

West Bergholt Parish Council supports this policy.

P118

The ICB understands the hierarchy process and agrees in principle with the outcomes in this policy. The District Centres identified in the local plan all meet the criteria to be where they are in the hierarchy, but not all of the district centres are in the same position from a health strategy point of view. The ICB think it is imperative that CCC and health partners work together to optimise the opportunities for growth in line with health infrastructure. Some areas might be better suited to taking more residential growth than others and this might not be just based on raw data.

Some district centres could become locations for community health centres (in line with NHS 10-Year Plan) and some locations might have health facilities severely constrained and therefore not able to meet proposed population increases.

Working closely with CCC through the planning process, identifying strategies in the IDP, being open and transparent (relatively) with each other on strategic issues, and coordinating responses to planning applications will be vital in making this work.

The application of criteria a) and b) to ‘in-centre’ proposals is also not consistent with the NPPF which ultimately directs proposals for main town centre uses towards defined centres. There is no sound basis on which to require in-centre proposals to justify their appropriateness within a town centre location.

I don't understand the assertion that Colchester City Centre is the "top of the hierarchy" for shopping, services, leisure etc. and there is a "town centre first" approach, when the Council itself developed the Nortern Gateway and oversaw the large expantion of the Tollgate Centre. These have both dragged retail and leisure activity away from the city centre. I'd certainly welcome a resurgence in city centre retail opportunities and it would be good to see the Council really pushing this.

See full text of the attachment for each policy which in some cases add extra information that couldn't be included fully in the rep summary.

Officer summary of full submission. See attachment with detailed comments on numerous policies:
The overall message is one of support for CCC undertaking a review of the adopted Local Plan to ensure an up to date plan prepared in accordance with the NPPF is in place. ECC will continue the on-going engagement with CCC, through the Duty (or any replacement), to assist progress of the Plan to Regulation 19 (the Pre-Submission Plan), particularly with regards the strategic and cross boundary implications, including cumulative issues and opportunities arising from growth to ensure that the infrastructure requirements are identified, quantified, costed and phased where appropriate. ECC service areas have clearly outlined where further collaborative work/assessment needs to be undertaken (e.g. education provision and ongoing transportation modelling) to refine and resolve an issue; and ECC will continue to be engaged, alongside NH, on the proposals which have an impact on the A12 strategic transport corridor, in particular A12 junctions 25 to 28, A12 widening and junction improvements, and the A120 Corridor Maks Tey to Braintree.

There is support for the Draft Plan’s vision which covers environmental, social and economic needs and emphasises healthy living environments and green networks, environmental protection and economic growth. There is support that the mandatory housing target will be met in full and exceeded over the Plan period in accordance with the NPPF, and that future employment needs will be met (noting that some clarifications are sought) by providing a range in scale of additional employment land supply. ECC provides strong support for policies related to net zero carbon (in operation and embodied), water efficiency, health and well-being, and the environment (green and blue infrastructure and BNG. Recommendations are made throughout the response on policy wording (including policy omissions) and justification to strengthen clarity, effectiveness and delivery.

There is strong support for the inclusion of site-specific Place Policies and references to infrastructure requirements, but these will need to be reviewed and confirmed with ECC following this consultation and the agreement of a final spatial strategy by CCC. It is noted there are some omissions in the Draft Plan such as the allocation of a new secondary school. On this issue, ECC acknowledges the requirement is stated in the Infrastructure Assessment Delivery Plan (Stage 3) for site allocation PP18 Land North of A120 Marks Tey; and in the Infrastructure Topic Paper prepared by CCC, where Appendix A lists the infrastructure requirements for the preferred options site allocations (including those for education). Land for the secondary school (and all education requirements) will need to be allocated in the Pre-Submission Plan.

The review of the IDP and full plan viability assessment are key documents for ECC engagement and input following this round of consultation. The Viability Assessment will need to be reviewed following consultation to ensure it can align with the most up to date evidence relating to the EPOA net zero development policies and its viability evidence. Mention is also made in the response to specific localities and sites – notably Marks Tey and Langham – where discussion needs to take place and recommendations are made to ensure effective delivery if these proposed allocations are taken forward to the Pre-Submission Plan.