Chelmsford City Council has published the Pre-Submission Local Plan for consultation today, for six weeks until 4.45pm on Wednesday 14 March 2018.
The Chelmsford Local Plan will guide growth and development across Chelmsford City Council’s area in the period to 2036. It will identify land for new development for the provision of housing, jobs and schools as well as areas for protection. The new Local Plan will also include new policies to help determine planning applications.
The paper documents are substantial, so it is best if you view them online, but there will be paper copies in the Parish Office for you to study. There are five;
Sustainability Appraisal (SA) www.chelmsford.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/1143549.pdf
Habitats Regulations Assessment (HRA) www.chelmsford.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/1143551.pdf
Issues and Options Feedback Report www.chelmsford.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/49151.pdf
Issues and Options You Said We Did www.chelmsford.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/938910.pdf
Preferred Options Feedback Report and You Said We Did www.chelmsford.gov.uk/_resources/assets/attachment/full/0/1140747.pdf
All the documents are also on our website: www.chelmsford.gov.uk/pre-submission
There are also a series of public drop-in exhibitions to be held during the consultation period, details of which can be found at: https://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/planning-and-building-control/planning-policy-and-new-local-plan/new-local-plan/developing-the-new-local-plan/new-local-plan-exhibition-schedule/
You are strongly encouraged to make your comments through the consultation portal www.chelmsford.gov.uk/planningpolicyconsult
If you are not registered, it is a simple process to do so. Go to Login/Register at the top of the page and then click on Register. Then there is just a simple form for contact details and people can set their own password. It might be obvious but you should read all the information before starting, but especially the blue box ‘Registering to make comments’. You must be logged in to make comments using the Portal. There is also a link to a User Guide for people who may have forgotten their login details.
If you are having problems, call the City Council on 01245 606330, where we will be happy to assist.
Finding the right section to comment on:
You only need to comment on the document they are interested in, which for most people will be the Pre-Submission Local Plan Document which is numbered 1 on the list on the Consultation Portal. Once they click on that, they will then click on ‘Read and comment on document’.
You can read the whole document, and if you want to make a comment (e.g. on a paragraph, plan, table etc), just click on ‘Add Comments’.
If you only want to comment on a specific site, there is an index on the left of the page. All the sites are listed under ‘7 – Where will development growth be focused?’ Click on the plus sign to expand the index. Then the sites are grouped into Growth Area 1, Growth Area 2 and Growth Area 3. Again, click on the plus sign to expand the list. Click on the site name and the page will show.
If you just want to comment overall on the site, use the Add Comments tab at the top of the turquoise policy box. Otherwise make your comments on individual paragraphs.