Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community Development Plan Document (DPD)

We note that the Plan proposes the creation of a new Country Park, (Salary Brook), including land and woodland at and around Salary Brook Local Nature Reserve that connects with a wider network of green corridors and walking/cycleways throughout the garden community. Again, seemingly no thought for equestrians. It is our strong view that consideration should be given to the creation of a new circular bridleway as part of the Country Park planning, extending into adjoining planned green spaces, and that further consideration should be given as to whether said new Bridleways could link with the Restricted Byway 162-21 situated within the radius of the proposed Garden Community.

Tendering Colchester Borders Garden Community Submission Version Plan Response
Essex Bridleways Association wishes to make the following comments on the Submission Version of the Plan:
Essex Bridleways Association is extremely concerned that none of the issues raised in our response of 7th April 2022 to the Draft Plan have been addressed or acknowledged. Additionally, our response has neither been acknowledged or documented on the Consultation Statement spreadsheet, where responses from consultees have been logged. EBA has a receipt response e-mail dated 7th April 2022 at 12.08pm confirming the safe receipt of our comments, therefore one wonders if our comments have simply been ignored ?
We therefore provide further comments on the Submission Version of the Plan as requested, and sincerely hope that the comments will be properly addressed this time.
Overall, we are very concerned and disappointed at the apparent lack of consideration for equestrians in the Plan.
Movement and Connections in the Garden Community (Chapter 8)
Section 1 Local Plan
The Plan states that ‘in respect of the topics covered under the theme of Movement and Connections, some of the main requirements expected to be covered in this Plan, as set out in the policies of the adopted Section 1 Local Plan, include’:
• The network of footpaths, cycleways and bridleways to enhance accessibility within the site and to the adjoining areas…..
However, beyond this initial statement, the emphasis and focus of the Movement and Connections section of the Plan moves firmly to the provision of walking and cycling infrastructure, with no reference to Bridleways. There is no detailed comment as to how the existing public footpaths will be treated as part of the development, we consider there should be more detailed commentary around the intentions for existing PROW within the development boundary.
It would seem logical to ensure that ALL vulnerable road users are considered within a major scheme such as this and we are disappointed that equestrians are given no consideration here. Highways England schemes proactively incorporate multi-user routes within their projects – the new A14 is a classic example here – and it would be encouraging if the Councils involved in this project were to follow their lead. After all, safety should be paramount, and it is discriminatory to exclude one user group from such a provision.
We note that the Plan proposes the creation of a new Country Park, (Salary Brook), including land and woodland at and around Salary Brook Local Nature Reserve that connects with a wider network of green corridors and walking/cycleways throughout the garden community. Again, seemingly no thought for equestrians. It is our strong view that consideration should be given to the creation of a new circular bridleway as part of the Country Park planning, extending into adjoining planned green spaces, and that further consideration should be given as to whether said new Bridleways could link with the Restricted Byway 162-21 situated within the radius of the proposed Garden Community.
If our reading of the plan is correct, it appears that the above-mentioned Restricted Bridleway is to become a Rapid Transit route. Therefore equestrians will presumably lose the ability to use this route, but there is no mention of this loss of use in the Plan.
It is noted that land within the ‘Strategic Green Gaps’ will be protected from development, and that the construction of new buildings will only be supported where they represent the provision of appropriate development for a countryside location of facilities for outdoor sports and recreation. As such the routing of a new Bridleway through such areas would seem entirely appropriate. We would again request that consideration be given as to how Restricted Byway 162-21 could be incorporated into a wider equestrian friendly PROW network to allow potential usage by horse and carriage driving.
Equestrians have been ignored as a user group in the preparation of this plan. We would ask that this be addressed please. Major developments such as this that will cater for the needs of future generations should consider the needs of all user groups to be considered equitable, balanced and sound.
M Crisp
Essex Bridleways Association