Colchester City Council Preferred Options Local Plan Regulation 18 Consultation 2025

Bloor Homes support the Council’s ambition to achieve and deliver genuine ‘placemaking’ when determining planning applications. Bloor Homes are already delivering new homes in Colchester. This demonstrates their positive track record in delivering high quality and attractive new communities which residents and the wider district can be proud of.

Bloor Homes notes that the Council will require Applicants to prepare Design Codes to support proposals where they are needed to deliver high standards of urban and architectural design.

Bloor Homes support the use of Design Codes; however, they are only useful tools on strategic sites of significant scale. Bloor Homes recommend that a minimum threshold of” at least 500 dwellings” is included in Policy ST8. The wording should also be amended to allow for flexibility as to what stage of the planning process a Design Code is required. When a planning application is outline in form, it is appropriate for a Design Code to be conditioned and then required concurrently with the first Reserved Matters submission or prior to a Reserved Matters submission.

Policy NZ1 seeks all new buildings, including developments of one dwelling and above, to be designed and built to be Net Zero Carbon standard during in operation.

Bloor Homes recognises Local Planning Authorities legal duty to deliver carbon reductions through the planning process in line with the Climate Change Act (2008), including both the 2050 goal for a net zero carbon UK, and sharply-declining five-yearly carbon budgets between today and 2050; also reflected in the National Planning Policy Framework’s (2024) requirement for Plans to take a proactive approach to mitigating and adapting to climate change.

Bloor Homes acknowledges the aspirational approach to achieving progress on climate change and energy efficiency, but the new Local Plan needs to also acknowledge that these aspirations go well beyond current requirements and have consequential financial and land take considerations that have not been fully assessed in the evidence base. As such, allocations that the Council are depending on to deliver their housing requirement may become less viable or not deliver the quantum of development expected. Each site must be considered on its individual merits alongside the range of wider benefits the site will deliver. As such, any policy should include ‘where appropriate or possible to do so’ to provide the necessary flexibility to ensure sites come forward.

Bloor Homes acknowledge the importance of residential growth being supported by investment in existing and new water infrastructure. The Preferred Options Local Plan (POLP), Infrastructure Audit and Delivery Plan (October 2025) and the Water Cycle Study (February 2025) all acknowledge capacity pressures at various locations in Colchester.

The evidence base documents referenced above identify capacity issues and, in some cases, potential solutions and funding streams to address capacity shortfalls. The same documents also identify capacity issues in other locations, with no solutions or funding in place. The latter being in locations where the Pre-Submission Local Plan (POLP) is proposing growth.

In proactively and positively planning for growth the Council have a key role to play in phasing development and ensuring solutions are in place to support development coming forward at the planning application stage and implementation stage.

In planning policy terms, Bloor Homes currently object to paragraph 6 of Draft Policy NZ3 which requires Applicants to work with Anglian Water to confirm capacity at named Water Recycling Centres at the point of anticipated connection. Similar statements are contained in policies relating to site allocations i.e. growth planned for and promoted by the Council. It is for the Council to work with their partners to ensure that there is sufficient capacity in place as part of preparing the new Local Plan and assigning growth to areas with existing and identified pressures.

The use of a Grampian Condition limiting the occupancy, as per the Council’s current Development Management approach, is not an appropriate or robust strategy to support the delivery of new homes.

If this further work is not undertaken and solutions agreed between the Council and Anglian Water, housing delivery will stall and consequently the minimum housing requirements may not be met.

Bloor Homes support the concept of new residential development delivering a mix of house types and tenures to meet local needs. The role of tailored and specific evidence, such as the Local Housing Needs Assessment, is also acknowledged by Bloor Homes.

Policy H1 currently seeks a prescriptive and inflexible housing mix for residential planning applications to meet. Bloor Homes welcome the acknowledgement in the policy that an alternative mix could be accepted if it was evidenced as being “more appropriate” at the application stage. However, greater flexibility in approach is required to enable the policy to support further development proposals throughout the Plan period as the housing needs of the local market will change over time. In its current form the Policy will increase delays in the Development Management process as alternative mixes will inevitably need to be proposed, evidenced and agreed.

Should the Council wish to pursue its prescriptive approach, a flexibility buffer of 10% should be included in the policy to allow for variances to meet local demands and overcome design/layout challenges on site. In addition, it is noted that based on the proposed mix the Council do not want or need any five-bedroom houses. Again, this is an inflexible approach, accordingly, it is recommended that a five-bedroom category is introduced, or the 4-bedroom category is amended to 4-bedroom +.

Bloor Homes acknowledge the Council’s responsibility to deliver self and custom build homes across the district. Draft Policy H6 seeks the delivery of 2% self and custom build homes at housing developments of over 150 dwellings.

Bloor Homes contend that whilst it is a relatively common approach across other local planning authorities to seek plots as a percentage of major developments, it has not been robustly evidenced that this is a successful approach. Bloor Homes contend that private individuals looking to design and build their own home would more often than not wish to develop on smaller new developments or in desirable and often less sustainable locations. Consideration should be given to identifying sites to deliver self and custom build plots and or providing a flexible policy tool capable of supporting delivery at smaller developments within or on the edge of settlements.

Bloor Homes support and acknowledge the need for the Council and the Local Plan to identify sites for gypsy, travellers and travelling showpeople. Indeed, the need to establish the need for this type of home is set out in Paragraph 63 of the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

Draft Policy H7 states that the need for pitches will be largely met at the proposed Tendring and Colchester Borders Garden Community and the expansion of an existing site at Severalls Lane. The expansion of existing sites is supported by Bloor Homes where there is sufficient land and infrastructure to support the community.

Draft Policy H7 states that “strategic allocations to be finalised through Masterplanning” will also play a role in providing new pitches. Clarity is required as to whether this policy wording means the Preferred Options Local Plan (POLP) (or a future policy document) will make additional site allocations purely for new pitches or if it means providing pitches on proposed site allocations for C3 market housing as identified in the POLP.

Providing new pitches as part of C3 residential development is not supported owing to the amenity and design challenges which may arise; and the potential impact of grouping the two uses could have on the sale of new C3 homes. Bloor Homes encourage the Council to plan proactively and positively for new standalone sites for pitches or further extensions to existing sites.

Draft Policy PC8 provides a prescriptive minimum private amenity space standard for residential developments to achieve. Bloor Homes acknowledge the importance of providing high quality private amenity space for all new homes.

The proposed requirements for each dwelling size should be described as ‘approximately’ XX m2. This minor wording amendment will allow for flexibility in the design approach depending on the individual constraints and opportunities which face a development site. Furthermore, it may be that the more optimum approach would be to provide a smaller garden which did not fully meet the desired standard but instead was of a more beneficial layout and shape.

Delivering a robust and high-quality housing layout and design is a complex and challenging process. Indeed, there are often many competing challenges and priorities to address. Providing aspirational, but flexible Development Management policies is advocated by Bloor Homes in order to deliver unique and optimum design solutions.