Inspector's Schedule of Modifications

Latimer support modification MM52, this being an amendment agreed between Latimer and the Councils in the joint Statement of Common Ground, dated 18 April 2024.

Latimer will be building new roads across the Garden Community to adoptable standards meaning the existing adopted lanes become surplus to requirements. However, these will be utilised and repurposed to become safe and attractive walking and cycling corridors, with existing hedgerows enhanced and buffered to become ‘green movement corridors’ which criss-cross the masterplan. They will be critically important active travel corridors for the neighbourhoods. This updated text recognises this ambition and the process which needs to be undertaken to realise this strategy.

Latimer support modification MM53, this being an amendment agreed between Latimer and the Councils in the joint Statement of Common Ground, dated 18 April 2024.

The mode split targets reflect the land-use quanta tested in the DPD and the Transport Assessment will establish the targets based on detailed forecasting and will be agreed with the highway and planning authority based on the transport strategy proposed and linked to the phasing strategy for both the development, Park and Choose and Link Road. Review mechanisms for the DPD will allow updates to respond to the developing evidence base.

Monitoring and Managing transport over the lifetime of the project will be critical in being able to ensure appropriate mitigation is delivered at the right time. This regime will be secured in the S106 for the hybrid planning application. Modal shift targets and ambitions for reducing car use over time will be closely monitored and will allow the package of mitigation to better respond over the passage of time as new homes and infrastructure are delivered.

Latimer support modification MM54, this being an amendment agreed between Latimer and the Councils in the joint Statement of Common Ground, dated 18 April 2024. The modification to the policy reflects that infrastructure can (alongside promotional measures) enable and encourage sustainable travel but not ensure it.

Latimer support modification MM57, this being an amendment agreed between Latimer and the Councils in the joint Statement of Common Ground, dated 18 April 2024.

How the RTS will serve each neighbourhood centre will be the subject of plot testing within detailed master planning, undertaken in support of the emerging planning application for the site. “Accessibility” rather than “a direct link” avoids introducing a potential conflict with other policies by being prescriptive about the alignment of RTS.

Latimer support modification MM58, this being an amendment agreed between Latimer and the Councils in the joint Statement of Common Ground, dated 18 April 2024.

It is agreed that a quality public transport service must be available during the first phase that generates residential trips, and, where possible, the RTS segregated route be available early. However, MM58 introduces required flexibility in the wording to avoid the DPD prejudging the location of the first phase, i.e. that it must be adjacent to the safeguarded RTS corridor.

Reference to “first residential parcels” rather than “first phase” under MM58 provides useful clarity for interpretation and implication of the policy, given there may be a requirement for infrastructure enabling works relating to energy etc which would fall under the definition of “first phase” but wouldn’t have any homes associated with it to require an operational RTS.

Latimer support modification MM59, this being an amendment agreed between Latimer and the Councils in the joint Statement of Common Ground, dated 18 April 2024. The updated policy wording aligns with other policy references within the DPD, to the RTS being a ‘fast’ service.

The proposed modification is not required.

Latimer strongly object to MM60. In addition, the stated ‘reason’ for the modification is not agreed, as the proposed modification does not simply carry forward the requirement from the Section 1 Plan, which states:

Before any planning approval is granted for development forming part of the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community, the following strategic transport infrastructure must have secured planning consent and funding approval:

a) A120-A133 link road: and

b) Route 1 of the rapid transit system as defined in the North Essex Rapid Transit System: From Vision to Plan document (July 2019

MM60 would therefore introduce a further constraint, beyond the Section 1 Plan.

The connection from the A133 section C of the RTS (delivered by ECC under the HIF programme) to the Park and Choose and through the Garden Community, would be detailed and proposed within the Hybrid Planning application for the site, but in the first instance would seek to utilise the existing dual carriageway

It is therefore not practical to restrict approval of a planning application for development forming part of the Garden Community, until this is provided. The proposed modification is not required, is unclear and would be overly restrictive.

The Section 1 Plan already forms part of the Development Plan for this site, therefore the policy does not need to be repeated in the DPD (or reworded to make it more onerous as proposed here). It is therefore strongly requested this modification is rejected.

Latimer support modification MM61, this being an amendment agreed between Latimer and the Councils in the joint Statement of Common Ground, dated 18 April 2024. Design can seek to avoid these issues, it cannot ‘ensure’. The monitoring strategy for TCBGC will ensure that unforeseen issues with parking are picked up and addressed in subsequent design phases. Car parking management and enforcement will also be a key tenet of the stewardship and estate management regime for the site.

Latimer support modification MM62, this being an amendment agreed between Latimer and the Councils in the joint Statement of Common Ground, dated 18 April 2024.

The Transport Assessment will define what is to be agreed for TCBGC and this should align with the ambitions established in the evidence base. Latimer agree that the RTS and active travel modes are the priority however some flexibility is required in the DPD, as provided by MM62, to fully understand network and road capacities and how this will inform the masterplan work and ultimate transport strategy, mitigation packages and mode split targets.

Latimer support modification MM63, this being an amendment agreed between Latimer and the Councils in the joint Statement of Common Ground, dated 18 April 2024.

Latimer’s initial testing of the capacity of the A133 junction indicates that the Southern Community will require two points of vehicular access to the Link Road. This will be confirmed through detailed modelling in the Transport Assessment submitted with the planning application, however MM63 enables this flexibility to protect the ability for the Southern Community to have access from the A133 and Tye Lane Roundabouts on the Link Road.