Colchester City Council Preferred Options Local Plan Regulation 18 Consultation 2025

White Colne Parish Council welcomes the opportunity to comment on the Preferred Options Local Plan. Although White Colne lies within Braintree District, development proposed in the northwest of Colchester District will have a direct and significant effect on the village due to the shared A1124 transport corridor which links the Earls Colne / Wakes Colne area to Colchester.
In particular, White Colne Parish Council notes the following site allocations:
• PP28: Land West of Station Road, Wakes Colne – approx. 200 dwellings
• PP27: Swan Grove, Chappel – approx. 35 dwellings
• PP36: Great Tey – approx. 125 dwellings
• PP31 & PP32: Land North of Halstead Road, Eight Ash Green – approx. 300 dwellings combined
• PEP12: Wakes Hall Business Centre – employment expansion
Taken together, these allocations amount to well over 800 new homes in the immediate A1124 catchment between Great Tey / Wakes Colne and the western edge of Colchester. All vehicular movements from these sites will necessarily travel along the A1124 or its immediate feeder routes, and a significant proportion will pass through or impact White Colne, a rural village already experiencing high traffic volumes, issues with speeding vehicles, limited crossing points, no continuous footway on parts of the A1124, and bus service unreliability.
The draft plan requires individual developments to demonstrate that they will not be “detrimental to highway capacity or safety,” yet the cumulative impact of 800+ dwellings (plus new employment land) on the A1124 corridor has not been assessed.
White Colne Parish Council therefore requests:
1. A full cumulative highways impact assessment
This must consider all allocations that use the A1124 as their primary route into Colchester, including those in Wakes Colne, Chappel, Great Tey, and Eight Ash Green.
2. Identification of required mitigation measures
Including but not limited to:
• junction improvements,
• speed management,
• pedestrian safety enhancements,
• bus service improvements,
• measures to protect rural villages from increased through-traffic.
3. Cross-boundary engagement
Colchester City Council must work proactively with Braintree District Council, Essex County Highways, and White Colne Parish Council, as the impacts of proposed Policies will fall substantially outside Colchester’s own administrative boundary.
4. Recognition that infrastructure needs do not stop at district boundaries
The Local Plan should explicitly acknowledge the dependency of new development on the A1124 and commit to ensuring that rural communities such as White Colne are not disproportionately affected by growth elsewhere.

White Colne Parish Council supports sustainable, well-planned development. However, without a clear cumulative transport strategy, the draft plan risks delivering significant adverse impacts on road safety, noise, air quality, and the rural character of our village.

White Colne Parish Council notes proposed site allocations in the north-western area of the Colchester Preferred Options LP:
PP17: Land south of A12 & Marks Tey Village;
PP18: Land North of A120, Marks Tey;
PP27: Swan Grove, Chappel;
PP28: Land West of Station Road, Wakes Colne;
PP31: Land North of Halstead Road East of Wood Lane, Eight Ash Green;
PP32: Land North of Halstead Road West of Fiddlers Wood, Eight Ash Green;
PP33: Land East of Plummers, Fordham;
PP36: Land at Earls Colne Road, Great Tey;
PP45: Land off New Road, Aldham.
Taken together, these allocations amount to 3,330 dwellings.

White Colne Parish Council notes the proposed site allocations in the north-western area of the Colchester Preferred Options Local Plan:
PEP5: Land south of A12 Marks Tey, 16ha;
PEP6: Anderson's Site, Marks Tey, 3.2ha;
PEP9: Bullbanks Farm, Eight Ash Green, 0.8ha;
PEP10: Lodge Lane, Langham, 1ha;
PEP12: Land at Wakes Hall Business Centre, 0.9ha.
Taken together, these allocations amount to 21.9ha.

White Colne Parish Council strongly objects to the scale of the proposed allocation at Wakes Colne. The site allocation lies directly adjacent to White Colne. The proposed allocation represents a substantial expansion disproportionate to the size and function of Wakes Colne, virtually doubling its population. Development on this scale will increase traffic on local roads, particularly the A1124, negatively impacting adjacent parishes. The Wakes Colne link road required under PP28 will channel more traffic directly onto the A1124, increasing congestion, noise and safety risks through White Colne.
Policy PP28 does not ensure that the entire area will not be developed. The Policy should state that 200 dwellings is the maximum allocation.
White Colne has experienced flooding incidents, which could be exacerbated by the increase in hardstanding and impermeable surfaces at the proposed development site.

White Colne Parish Council objects to the proposed extension of the existing business centre. Further development of the site would encroach into open countryside towards the edge of White Colne. Expansion of the site will increase the risk of flooding, and will increase traffic on local roads, particularly the A1124, negatively impacting adjacent parishes.

White Colne Parish Council objects to the scale of the proposed allocation at Eight Ash Green. Development on this scale will increase traffic on local roads, particularly the A1124, negatively impacting adjacent parishes.

White Colne Parish Council objects to the scale of the proposed allocation at Eight Ash Green. Development on this scale will increase traffic on local roads, particularly the A1124, negatively impacting adjacent parishes.

White Colne Parish Council objects to the scale of the proposed allocation at Great Tey. Development on this scale will increase traffic on local roads, particularly the A1124, negatively impacting adjacent parishes.