Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community Development Plan Document (DPD)

1. Yesterday, S25 June 2023, having followed the guidelines on the portal to draft and then submit my comments I experienced great difficulty in achieving a submission. I therefore emailed Officers that evening to explain my difficulties and the guidelines I followed on the portal. Thus, this morning I have been allowed to submit my comments by this email. This does raise questions of accessibility experienced by residents wishing to submit their comments.

2. This whole GC proposal does have resemblance to Allana Slater's experience at the 2000 Sydney Olympics where she was the only one to observe that the event she was taking part in was 'Coming Up Short'...

3. I attended each of the nine Consultation Meetings to (again) gauge the public engagement concerning the Tolchester Garden Community proposals. Similar to the previous consultations and public examination meetings the actual number of the members of the public taking an active or any interest was dismally low. With the combined populations of Tendring & Colchester c400,000 the percentage of residents that bothered to attend over the nine meetings was less than 0.04% of the combined Tolchester populations. (Parish, town and district councillors numbers excluded from the 0.04% resident turnout.) The Main Developers did not attend any of the nine Consultation Meetings. However, Latimer did attend the January 2023 Tolchester GC Joint Committee Meeting and Latimer's spokesperson stated that Latimer was part of the Clarion Group; was reputable; and fully engaged with residents ! No council members of the Tolchester GC JC attended any of the nine Consultation Meetings - these councillors will take decisions on matters arising. When Councillors and Officers were asked directly if any of them would be moving into the Tolchester GC themselves, only Cllr King was brave enough to answer. The Right Honourable Michael Gove Minister of State slated Clarion in the Awaab Report - Councillors and Officers declined to comment. Public engagement has therefore failed on these points.

4. At each of nine Consultation Meetings I, as well as others, asked for paper copies of the documents displayed. The paper documents were not made available to the residents to take, fully consider and study.
Public engagement therefore failed.

5. At the Section 1 Public Examination Hearings the planning authorities lauded 'Garden Community' principles citing numerous previous models that were based on other models that were in turn derived from earlier models. And so, the Tolchester Garden Community was to be based on Garden Communities Principles. However, there will be :
a. No completed A120-A133 Link Road;
b. No reasonable Main Line Rail connection, only a disjointed Rapid Transit Bus provision;
c. Few homes with 'gardens' are planned, instead the plans indicate high level high density units, with some 7,500 units on 143ha of development land; (this deviates considerably from the original cited model of Letchworth and earlier documentation for the scheme).
d. The proposed Rapid Transit System is half baked and reliant upon the ECC/HE HIF of £34.5M. Most of this funding will be spent on the Colchester City transport improvements not the Tolchester GC !
e. The A120-A133 Link Road ECC/HE HIF of £64.5M is now inadequate to build the Link Road - it has been described as a 'Cul de Sac'. Latimer will now be expected to deliver any shortcomings, and be reimbursed from residents contributions.
f. The Tolchester GC will be sited on +700ha of good quality agricultural land.
g. Large scale light, noise pollution, and wildlife issues will be experienced near, far and wide.
h. For years the impact of roadworks around Clingo Hill will seriously affect local people's lives. There are solutions, but ECCH will not listen and consider them. ECCH has a known dismal record of new road provision and highway maintenance issues.

6. On T11 January 2022 the TDC Section 2 LP was recommended for adoption by the TDC Officers, PP&LP Ctte Members to TDC Full Council, it was subsequently adopted T25 January 2022 - after all the so-called scrutiny by Officers, Councillors and Inspectors the S2 LP contained errors in the tabled figures (and continues to do so).

7. A TDC Officer stated at a PP7LP Ctte Mtg that Tendring DC was not reliant on the housing to be delivered by the Tolchester GC to meet housing requirements within the 2013 to 2033 S2 LP. So there is no need for the development.

8. If Officers, Cllrs or Planning Inspectors wish to consult with me I am available.