Defunct plans for a 43,000-home garden village in north Essex could be revived in the wake of Labour’s housing pledges. Braintree District Council leader, Councillor Graham Butland, has expressed frustration that large parts of the garden village plans between Uttlesford and Tending were rejected in 2020 after a government inspector ruled they were unworkable.Defunct plans for a 43,000-home garden village in north Essex could be revived in the wake of Labour’s housing pledges. Braintree District Council leader, Councillor Graham Butland, has expressed frustration that large parts of the garden village plans between Uttlesford and Tending were rejected in 2020 after a government inspector ruled they were unworkable. However, Councillor Butland said he had asked his officials to investigate an announcement by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, who stressed her commitment to building 1.5 million new homes before the next election and said a revision of planning rules was holding back construction in Britain. This means that at least parts of the North Essex Garden Community project – which included a total of 43,000 homes along the North Essex A120 corridor, with significant employment opportunities and transformative new infrastructure – could be re-examined. Butland emphasized his commitment to building communities rather than just houses, stating that local authorities were planning something different by taking land value away from developers to invest in infrastructure. Following a public inquiry, a planning inspector concluded that only the Tendring and Colchester borders Garden Community was viable and deliverable, while the other two proposed communities were not. However, the mood in government has changed since Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves confirmed Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes. The government plans to review planning rules, allow new developments on some parts of the green belt, and prioritize brownfield and grey belt land for housing, including affordable and social housing. Councillor Butland stated that he is open to discussions with the government to alleviate the housing crisis in his district, emphasizing the need to provide housing for those on the waiting list and young people living with their parents.
Defunct plans for a 43,000-home garden village in north Essex could be revived in the wake of Labour’s housing pledges. Braintree District Council leader, Councillor Graham Butland, has expressed frustration that large parts of the garden village plans between Uttlesford and Tending were rejected in 2020 after a government inspector ruled they were unworkable.
However, Councillor Butland said he had asked his officials to investigate an announcement by Finance Minister Rachel Reeves, who stressed her commitment to building 1.5 million new homes before the next election and said a revision of planning rules was holding back construction in Britain.
This means that at least parts of the North Essex Garden Community project – which included a total of 43,000 homes along the North Essex A120 corridor, with significant employment opportunities and transformative new infrastructure – could be re-examined.
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He said: “I said then that this was the biggest piece of local government socialism I had ever been involved in. And that was because it meant that the local authorities – Braintree, Colchester and Tendring – were planning something different.
“We weren’t just planning concrete houses. We were taking the land value away from developers to put infrastructure in. We were planning a community, not just building houses. That’s the difference – I want to build communities, not just houses.
“If we have a government that wants to do the same, I’m open to whatever they have. I know it’s going to irritate some of the people we irritated last time and we got a lot of criticism, but unfortunately a planning inspector who was six months away from retirement decided otherwise. I realise some people don’t want homes, but then they have to be accountable for what they do to homelessness in the area and future generations.”
NEGC, owned by Braintree District Council, Colchester City Council, Tendring District Council and Essex County Council, who each have one seat on the company’s board, was set up to provide housing for three new settlements in West of Braintree, on the Braintree/Colchester border and on the Tendring/Colchester border. They aimed to deliver up to 43,000 new homes along the North Essex A120 corridor, with significant employment opportunities and transformative new infrastructure.
Following a public inquiry, on 15 May 2020 the councils received the Planning Inspector’s letter concluding that the Braintree/Colchester borders Garden Community and the West of Braintree Garden Community were not viable and therefore not deliverable. However, the Inspector agreed that the Tendring and Colchester borders Garden Community were viable and deliverable.
However, the mood in government has changed since Chancellor of the Exchequer Rachel Reeves confirmed Labour’s pledge to build 1.5 million new homes before the next election with a review of planning rules that have stopped Britain from building. She said new developments on some parts of the green belt would be allowed after local authorities reviewed the boundaries.
However, the government will prioritise brownfield and so-called grey belt land for housing, which would include affordable housing and social housing. Mandatory housing targets will be reinstated and 300 extra planning officers will be hired to speed up decisions. It added that decisions on major infrastructure projects will be made nationally rather than locally to prevent major plans getting bogged down in bureaucracy.
Councillor Butland said: “I’ve asked my officers to look at some of the announcements this week and how we as a council can help the government achieve what it wants to do. If that means alleviating the housing crisis in our district, I’m prepared to talk to anyone about how we can do that, because we have people on the housing waiting list and also people in their 20s and 30s who are still living at home with their parents.”
