ROCHFORD DISTRICT COUNCIL DRAFT LOCAL PLAN
ISSUES AND OPTIONS AND DRAFT SUSTAINABILITY APPRAISAL
CONSULTATION

Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the District Council's Draft Local Plan
Issues and Options and Draft Sustainability Appraisal documents.
I confirm that careful consideration has been given to these documents, and that the
responses in this letter have been considered and agreed by leading Members of the
Council.

I should be grateful if you could take the following comments into account as the
Borough Council's response to this consultation.

General Observations

The Borough Council notes that work on some of the evidence base which will inform
and support Rochford District Council's emerging Local Plan is still underway, some
of which has been commissioned jointly with other local planning authorities, including the Borough Council. It is to be hoped that the District Council continues this work with relevant stakeholders, to ensure that emerging policies are robust and sound.

Duty to Co-operate

The Borough Council welcomes the full, active and on-going engagement of the
District Council in South Essex "duty to co-operate" matters. It therefore requests that the District Council maintains this approach, and in particular its commitment to the Continued preparation of a joint strategic plan for South Essex, as agreed by the Association of South Essex Local Authorities, in addition to any work it considers appropriate or necessary for a new Rochford Local Plan.

Housing Need

Consideration has been given to the approach that the District Council has taken in determining its Objectively Assessed Need (OAN) for housing. It is clear from the evidence that the need identified within the Issues and Options Report reflects more up-to-date national household projections, as required by the Planning Practice Guidance, taking into account matters such as economic growth and the need for affordable housing, and is informed by an up-to-date Strategic Housing Market Assessment. The approach taken in considering housing need is therefore considered to be robust and satisfactory.
Furthermore, in relation to meeting its OAN, the Borough Council welcomes the District Council's commitment to take into account environmental and other constraints such as Green Belt, and improvements in infrastructure, as well as its commitment to work with neighbouring local planning authorities to ensure that the housing need across the South Essex Housing Market Area is effectively met. Overall, it would appear that the strategic approach to growth set out in SP1.1 of the Rochford Issues and Options consultation document, has been well considered and is robust.

SP1.7: Meeting Business Needs

The Borough Council welcomes the aim of the District Council to provide higher level employment, realising the economic potential of London Southend Airport, and enhancing the skills of the district's population. It also supports the need for continued broadband improvements and a requirement for grow-on space for local businesses in the district, as well as a specific reference to tourism and rural diversification in the current employment growth policy, to deliver local, rural job opportunities and promote rural economic growth. The Borough Council also welcomes the promotion of employment growth in the district, through highway improvements and sustainable transport options, in order to improve accessibility to local jobs.

SP3.1: Highways Infrastructure

The Borough Council requests that the District Council considers its relationships with neighbouring authorities carefully when allocating growth locations, as part of the transport modelling to support the Local Plan, and also within the Local Plan itself. Collaborative engagement and continual working between local planning authorities, the highway authority, and transport providers would help ensure that strategic transport links are capable of accommodating any additional transport pressures.

Draft Sustainability Appraisal of the Rochford Local Plan

The content of the Draft Sustainability Appraisal of the Rochford Local Plan has been reviewed, and it can be confirmed that there are no comments to be made on this occasion.

Thank you for the opportunity to reply to your consultation, and I hope that you will be able to take these comments into account.