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21 August 2018: 9:07 am
Committee recommends Local Plan changes
Basildon councillors have urged for changes to the borough's Local Development Plan, to protect green belt land and alleviate concerns about potential "urban sprawl".
The council's strategic planning and infrastructure committee advised officers last month to remove one of two proposed development sites in Noak Bridge. The councillors further recommended that Ramsden Bellhouse Parish Council be provided with a housing target, allowing it to determine its own development in a neighbourhood plan.
This follows a previous meeting by the committee on 17 July which recommended that officers reduce the allocation of homes in south west Billericay from 2,000 to 1,700 to prevent similar impacts to the landscape.
Committee chairman Richard Moore defended the recommendations: "It is important that we give careful consideration to the specific areas under review, taking into account all the relevant evidence. The policy steers given by the strategic planning and infrastructure committee will be used by officers to prepare a revised version of the Local Plan, which [the] council will vote on later this year."
A final decision on the changes will be made when the revised Local Plan is presented to council for approval in October 2018.
