Agenda and minutes

“Good evening to fellow Members, officers, the press, our residents and guests.

Tonight we have three recommendations to make to the Leader, Cabinet, and new Portfolio Holder for Planning, Councillor Jeff Bray.

The first two are for the rejuvenation and safety of Jaywick Sands.

This community has long been a problem for not only themselves, but Tendring and England. It has the unenviable reputation as the most deprived Ward. Yet at the same time, it is one of the most cohesive Communities in Tendring.

People like living there.

What they do not like is the threat of being flooded and the only recourse the EA has is to evacuate the residents.

Evacuation as a sea defence is unacceptable.

At last, after many years of trying, we have some suggestions as how to achieve acceptable 1 in 100-year flood defences.

Before us are the documents and ideas to create the right scheme. With modern housing and facilities, the deprivation levels will recede and with that, opportunities will appear to start the virtuous spiral. The answers may be simple but the processes are complicated and expensive.

As I have always applied to funding: ‘If the scheme is right then the funding will follow. If you cannot fund the funding, the scheme is wrong.’ Simples!

This requires much work and a lot of money!

It has taken many a long year to get to this point. I feel privileged to be able to be part of the creating of new Jaywick Sands.

The second part of our agenda is in regards to a non-statutory response to National Grid’s proposal to their suggested options for joining the North Falls and later the Five Estuaries Wind Farms, which lie off the coast, to the main National Grid. Appendix 1 on page 49 is the suggested response from our authority, which must be submitted by Thursday 16th June at the latest”.

Gary Guiver addressed the Committee advising the background of Jaywick Sands.

The Committee is asked to note any apologies for absence and substitutions received from Members.

An apology for absence was submitted on behalf of Councillor Bush, with Councillor M E Stephenson substituting. Apologies were also received from Councillor Chittock, with no substitutions.

To confirm and sign as a correct record, the minutes of the meeting of the Committee, held on Wednesday 11 May 2022.

Subject to the following amendments to page 6 (Minute 7):-

• The Harwich Treadwheel Crane – to include ‘repairs are underway’.
• The Electric Palace Cinema had ‘undergone’ a repair scheme.
• The Grade II listed Church of St Michael, within Kirby-Le-Soken on Historic England’s At Risk register.

It was RESOLVED that, subject to the amendments noted above, the Minutes of the last meeting of the Committee held on 11 May 2022 be approved as a correct record and be signed by the Chairman.

Councillors are invited to declare any Disclosable Pecuniary Interests or Personal Interest, and the nature of it, in relation to any item on the agenda.

Councillor Fairley declared for the public record that, a personal interest in relation to Agenda Items 8, (report A.3) due to family members owning land affected by the proposal. Councillor Fairley stated that the Monitoring Officer granted a dispensation to participate in the Committee’s debate and vote for the following reason:-

‘to represent wider interests of the community and residents who are also impacted upon, especially as this is a non-statutory consultation and the role of a ‘District Councillor’ is to voice the view of the person living in the area’.

Gary Guiver (Acting Director, Planning) confirmed that the dispensation from the Monitoring Officer was granted.

Councillor Nash declared for the public record that, an interest in relation to Agenda Items 6 and 7 (reports A.1 and A.2) due to being a Ward Member.

Subject to providing two working days’ notice, a Member of the Committee may ask the Chairman of the Committee a question on any matter in relation to which the Council has powers or duties which affect the Tendring District and which falls within the terms of reference of the Committee.

On this occasion no Councillor had submitted notice of a question pursuant to Council Procedure Rule 38.

The Council’s Public Speaking Scheme for the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee gives the opportunity for members of the public and other interested parties/stakeholders to speak to the Council’s elected members on the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee on any specific agenda item to be considered at that public meeting.

Pursuant to the provisions of the Council’s public speaking scheme for the Planning Policy & Local Plan Committee, it was reported that no member of the public had registered to ask at this meeting a question or make a statement regarding the matters contained in the reports of the Acting Director (Planning).

To seek the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee’s support for an initial consultation in relation to the Jaywick Sands Place Plan Supplementary Planning Document and for Members to note the information contained in the Jaywick Sands Interim Report April 2022.

Councillor Nash, had earlier in the meeting, declared for the public record that, an interest in relation to Agenda Items 6 and 7 (reports A.1 and A.2) due to being a Ward Member.

Hana Loftus, HAT Projects gave a presentation to the Committee regarding the regeneration objectives for Jaywick Sands.

The Committee gave consideration to a comprehensive report of the Acting Director (Planning) (A.1) which sought its support for an initial consultation in relation to the Jaywick Sands Place Plan Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) and also submitted for Members’ information the Jaywick Sands Interim Report April 2022.

It was reported that the Jaywick Sands Place Plan comprised one of the two key work streams in relation to the regeneration of Jaywick Sands. The aim of the Place Plan, as stated in the Tendring Local Plan, was to: "provide a development framework for the physical regeneration of Jaywick Sands facilitating the provision of new flood resilient homes built to modern building standards which will provide a high standard of accommodation for existing residents as well as providing land for employment opportunities and recreation and amenity areas.”

In line with the Tendring Local Plan, the Place Plan objectives were to:-

•    Transform housing quality and the built environment;

•    Ensure long-term flood resilience;

•    Create greater connectivity to neighbouring areas;

•    Attract commerce & new economic opportunities; and

•    Improve people's life chances, access to public services & health & well-being.

The Place Plan would also allow the Council to present a co-ordinated regeneration strategy, which had been costed and which would form the basis to bid for Government monies and grants.

The Committee was informed that, in the absence of a Place Plan, the present situation of residents living in inadequate private and rented accommodation would continue. The problems were likely to escalate over time, and, given the historical rate of development on Jaywick Sands, the probability was only that a small number of new or replacement dwellings would be constructed. In the scenario of a flood event, the current properties would provide only minimal protection. The level of accommodation was a very significant contributor to Jaywick Sands being listed as the most deprived area in the country and this would likely continue. Overall, the absence of a Place Plan would mean that development and regeneration in Jaywick Sands would occur on a piecemeal basis or not happen at all, with the Council only having a limited ability to seek funding for regeneration projects. 

Members were reminded that HAT Projects (with Igloo Regeneration) had been commissioned to undertake this work.

Consultation

Members were advised that the initial consultation stage would inform the production of the draft Place Plan which would contain a proposed regeneration strategy for Jaywick Sands. The purpose of the consultation was to inform this process and the aims of the consultation were to achieve the following:-

·      centering the community in the process – ensuring that the commitment to developing the regeneration strategy through genuine community collaboration is carried through;

·      better  ...  view the full minutes text for item 14.

To seek the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee’s comments on the Jaywick Sands Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) Draft April 2022.  To request the Committee’s approval to recommend to Cabinet that it approves a statutory consultation on the document.

Earlier in the meeting, Councillor Nash declared for the public record that, an interest in relation to Agenda Items 6 and 7 (reports A.1 and A.2) due to being a Ward Member.

Hana Loftus, HAT Projects gave a further presentation to the Committee regarding the Place Plan and SPD for Jaywick Sands.

The Committee gave its consideration to a comprehensive report of the Acting Director (Planning) (A.2) which sought its comments on the Jaywick Sands Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) Draft April 2022 and which also requested the Committee’s approval to recommend to Cabinet that it approved a statutory consultation on that document.

It was reported that the Jaywick Sands Design Guide SPD comprised one of the key work streams in relation to the regeneration of Jaywick Sands and aimed to guide the development of new and replacement dwellings within the existing residential areas of Brooklands, Grasslands and the Village. This Design Guide SPD would be a useful tool for:-

• Planning officers in determining planning applications and pre-application submissions;

•  Property owners and developers, and their design and planning consultants, in producing proposals for their sites; and

•  Stakeholder and community members when commenting on planning applications or early stage proposals.

Members were aware that much of the site, including existing residential development, was within an area at a high risk of flooding.   Public safety was the highest priority and the Council had worked, in particular with the Environment Agency, to identify a strategy to safeguard and improve public safety as well as achieve wider regeneration benefits for the community.  It was accepted by all concerned that regeneration of the area presented an opportunity to also improve the safety of existing residents.  The agreed approach was to allow new development, including new dwellings, in the area and to manage risk from flooding through bespoke building design rather than by resisting development as a standard sequential test would do. This approach to the sequential and exception test was outlined in a background document to the report entitled “Jaywick Sands – Approach to betterment, sequential and exception test - Technical Guidance April 2022”.

The current absence of a design guide meant that proposals were submitted which did not meet the required standards of safety and amenity and had resulted in protracted negotiations with the Council, thereby delaying development within Jaywick Sands. Clear guidance would help the applicant, the community and the Council to facilitate regeneration, which benefited the community as a whole.

Having considered all of the information and advice contained in the Officer report and its appendices:-

It was moved by Councillor Fowler, seconded by Councillor Fairley and unanimously:-

RESOLVED that the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee:

1.      notes and welcomes the Jaywick Sands Design Guide Supplementary Planning Document (SPD) Draft April 2022; and

2.      recommends to Cabinet that the above document (forming Appendix 1) be approved for consultation with the public and other interested parties.

To seek the Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee’s comments on initial proposals from the National Grid for the ‘East Anglia Green’ 400kV and a draft response from Tendring District Council to the current non-statutory consultation exercise.

Earlier on in the meeting Councillor Fairley declared for the public record that, a personal interest in relation to Agenda Items 8, (report A.3) due to family members owning land affected by the proposal. Councillor Fairley stated that the Monitoring Officer granted a dispensation to participate in the Committee’s debate and vote for the following reason:-

‘to represent wider interests of the community and residents who are also impacted upon, especially as this is a non-statutory consultation and the role of a ‘District Councillor’ is to voice the view of the person living in the area’.

Gary Guiver (Acting Director, Planning) addressed the Committee with details of the East Anglian Green consultation and proposals.

The Committee gave consideration to a comprehensive report of the Acting Director (Planning) (A.3) which its comments on initial proposals from the National Grid for the ‘East Anglia Green’ 400kV and on a draft response from Tendring District Council to the current non-statutory consultation exercise.

It was reported that, in order to help achieve the Government’s ambition to achieve net zero carbon by 2050 and to ensure that the power network had the capacity to accommodate a projected increase in demand for electricity generated from renewable means, National Grid was proposing the ‘East Anglia Green’ project. This involved:

•    A new 400kV powerline between Norwich and Bramford (near Ipswich);

•    A new 400kV powerline between Bramford and Tilbury; and

•    A new 400kV substation in the Tendring area to facilitate the connection to the proposed North Falls Offshore Windfarm and Five Estuaries Offshore Windfarm – both of which were to be located off the Tendring coast.

The Committee was informed that, as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP), the planning process would be overseen by central Government and a specialist unit within the Planning Inspectorate. National Grid would be seeking a ‘Development Consent Order’ (DCO) from the Government, as opposed to planning permission from the local authority however, local authorities like Tendring District Council would be consultees in the process.

Members were made aware that this project was currently at a non-statutory pre-application stage whereby National Grid was inviting comments on its initial proposals. Its intention was to proceed to a statutory consultation in 2023, to be followed by the submission of the DCO application in 2024, an examination and decision process over the course of 2024 to 2026, construction between 2027 and 2030 and connection/operation from 2030/31 onwards.

It was reported that the current eight week non-statutory consultation had commenced on 21st April 2022 and would close on 16th June 2022. National Grid had put in place a programme of briefing sessions for stakeholders, communities and other interested parties, many of which had already taken place.

In anticipation that the North Falls and Five Estuaries Offshore Windfarms (which would be the subject of their own DCO process in due course) would connect to the grid in Tendring (between Holland Haven and Frinton-on-Sea), it was proposed that there would be a large electricity substation in the  ...  view the full minutes text for item 16.