Colchester City Council Preferred Options Local Plan Regulation 18 Consultation 2025

Fingringhoe is a semi-rural area in character with several PRow at Bridleway and Byway status. It has an equestrian community that rides and drives around the village, connecting to Peldon and Abberton. The plan promises to provide safe pedestrian access, ensuring connectivity within and throughout the site to existing footways and any public rights of way. Ensure the provision of green infrastructure connections and recreational access to the countryside, and secure active travel links to the settlement. There is a demonstrated need in this village to include horses, and all infrastructure should be RB- or BR-status to ensure inclusivity.

Strong indication to include equestrians due to the semi-rural and rural location of this site, including local woodland. Ensure provision of green infrastructure connections and recreational access to the countryside that includes equestrians. Horses stabled and ridden out at Messing, Tiptree, Layer Marney and Easthorpe. Infrastructure must be multi-user routes (MURs) to ensure inclusivity for all non-motorised users. A good opportunity to link the surrounding communities. MURs function as public highways and are best defined as restricted byways—open to pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists, and users of non-motorised vehicles—or as bridleways, which permit access for pedestrians, horse riders, and cyclists.

Strong indication to include equestrians due to the semi-rural and rural location of this site. Pete Tye Equestrian is based on Peldon Road, with multiple horses and liveries stabled there. There is extensive access to the Abberton reservoir permissive tracks for horses, cyclists and walkers. Horses are being ridden around the village on a circular route; contractors should be aware of the increased risk. Peldon Road is a national speed limit road with an unlevel camber. It poses a safety hazard, and the speed limit should be reduced if more vehicles are added to the area. Horses also use this road to access riding opportunities at Fingringhoe and Abberton. The policy promises to provide safe pedestrian access, ensuring connectivity within and throughout the site to existing footways and any public rights of way. Ensure provision of green infrastructure connections and recreational access to the countryside, also securing active travel links and connections to the settlement;
'Enhanced Open Space' as shown on the Policies Map must provide, in total, more than 10% of the allocation area as open space. This should include a minimum of 0.6ha of open space within the site. There is a strong need and clear indication to support equestrian inclusion, given the number of nearby national speed limit roads and the lack of a bridleway network. Any new green infrastructure should focus on enhancing route cohesion and reducing network fragmentation, particularly for routes to neighbouring villages and the Abberton reservoir permissive routes. Bridleways are not just for horses and do not require any additional infrastructure beyond that of a cycleway. They do not cost more money. A lack of knowledge about equestrian user groups is not a sufficient basis for discrimination. A safety evening was held here due to the interests of horse riders and carriage drivers and the dangerous nature of the surrounding roads.

Semi-rural area with an equestrian community. Development is close to Restricted Byway 28 Chappel, Restricted Byway 11 Chappel and Restricted Byway 64 Great Tey and Chalkney Wood. PRoW must be designed as multi-user routes (MURs) to ensure inclusivity for all non-motorised users. MURs function as public highways and are best defined as restricted byways—open to pedestrians, horse riders, cyclists, and users of non-motorised vehicles—or as bridleways, which permit access for pedestrians, horse riders, and cyclists. Any new links should have the RB status to ensure consistent access for all users and inclusivity.