To enable Council to consider the recommendation of the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community Joint Committee that a Community Governance Review be undertaken, at the appropriate time, that would (amongst other things)  look at the current parish boundaries within the area for the Garden Community (in so far as this is within the District) and would consider whether there is potential to create a new parish for the Garden Community or un-parish the existing area (in readiness for development of the Garden Community and Local Government Reorganisation).

Members were informed that, at its meeting held on 1 May 2025, the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community Joint Committee (“the Joint Committee”) had considered a report (A.2) that had sought the Joint Committee’s approval of the Pathway to Stewardship and Placemaking document as forming part of the planning guidance for determining planning applications at Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community in respect of stewardship matters.

Members of the Joint Committee had been reminded that, as part of the partner Councils’ commitment to comprehensively plan for the delivery of the Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community (TCBGC), specialist consultants (Community Stewardship Solutions (CSS)) had been commissioned, following a competitive tendering exercise, to prepare guidance on future stewardship requirements at the Garden Community.

The Joint Committee had recalled that the aim of that commission had been to enable the partner Councils to be better informed and more prepared for the consideration of stewardship proposals as they came forward through the planning process. Stewardship was an integral part of the planning requirements for the TCBGC, as set out in the adopted Section 1 Local Plan and the Development Plan Document.

It had been reported that throughout 2024, CSS had undertaken a series of meetings and interviews with local stakeholders and interested parties to gather views on potential community governance solutions at TCBGC. CSS had also been able to draw upon its considerable experience of planning stewardship arrangements at strategic developments and apply it to the TCBGC.

Members of the Joint Committee had been advised that the commission had culminated in the Pathway to Stewardship and Placemaking document. That document included commentary and bespoke recommendations related to a number of areas that CSS had considered to be intrinsic to progressive and effective stewardship arrangements, including accountable governance, financial sustainability and community enablement.

The Joint Committee had been made aware that the Pathway to Stewardship and Placemaking document, if approved by the Joint Committee, would form part of the partner authorities’ planning guidance that would be applied in the determination of relevant planning applications at TCBGC, particularly in relation to the future Stewardship Strategy to be submitted with the planning application.

In respect of the reference to the characteristics of TCBGC in that the development sat across both the Parishes of Ardleigh and Elmstead, as well as an area of unparished land (in the City of Colchester), it had been noted that the Pathway document had been finalised prior to Essex being included within the Government’s Priority Programme for Devolution and Local Government Reorganisation (LGR).  Therefore, any decision to commence a Community Governance Review to explore a change to the existing boundaries of the two Parishes within the Tendring District, would be undertaken at the appropriate time. 

It had been RESOLVED by the Joint Committee that it:-

(a)   approves the Pathway to Stewardship report as planning guidance for future decision making in relation to stewardship and related matters at Tendring Colchester Borders Garden Community; and

(b)   recommends to Tendring District Council that a Community Governance Review be undertaken, at the appropriate time, to look at the current parish boundaries within the area for the Garden Community and to consider whether there is potential to create a new parish for the Garden Community or un-parish the existing area in readiness for the development of the Garden Community and Local Government Reorganisation.

Resolution (b) above was pertinent to this meeting.  Although the resolution was framed in the way that it was, the community governance review process would look at all such matters within the review area and no predetermined outcome could be presumed from commencing such a review.  Further, the Council’s use of its powers under the Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 in respect of community governance reviews would need to be for the purposes set out in that Act. 

A copy of the published report (and its appendix) to the Joint Committee meeting held on 1 May 2025 was attached to the reference report (A.3). Pertinent advice of the Monitoring Officer had been included with the aforementioned reference report (A.3).

Having considered the reference report (A.3) from the Tendring / Colchester Borders Garden Community Joint Committee and the written advice of the Monitoring Officer contained therein:-

It was moved by Councillor Baker, seconded by Councillor M A Cossensand unanimously:-

RESOLVED that Council –

(a)   approves, in principle, that a Community Governance Review be undertaken, at the appropriate time, that would (amongst other things) look at the current parish boundaries within the area for the Garden Community (in so far as this is within the District) and that such review would consider whether there is potential to create a new parish for the Garden Community or un-parish the existing area (in readiness for the development of the Garden Community and Local Government Reorganisation); and

(b)   refers the resolution in (a) above to the Community Leadership Overview and Scrutiny Committee to enable an officer report to be submitted to it in respect of the options for the proposed community governance review, its timing and its resourcing and to enable that Committee to then provide an informed recommendation on these matters to the Council at a future meeting.