The publication of the Spatial Options Consultation document is a welcome step forward for the new Local Plan. Although notionally the adopted Core Strategy covers the period to 2025, that document is now a decade old, and it is important therefore for the Council to move forward and get a new Local Plan in place. Not only are some of the key assumptions in the Core Strategy regarding housing requirements and employment provision now substantially out of date, but there is in any event only a limited period of time now until the end date of the Core Strategy is reached, and it is important for the sustainable management of future development and its co-ordination with the necessary infrastructure for a long-term replacement Plan to be brought in to place as soon as practically possible.

We appreciate that the original intention had been for the new Local Plan to be guided by the Joint South Essex Plan, and of course that may still be the case, and that process may raise additional strategic options for consideration. However, in the absence of the joint strategic plan, we support the Council in moving forward at this stage with a range of strategic options for consultation, in light of the urgent need for progress outlined above.

It would be helpful to provide clarity on the period that the new Local Plan is intending to cover. The Committee Report and Vision section refer to the Plan setting out a 30 year vision for the District at 2050 (which coincides with the period for the joint Strategic Plan). However, the growth strategy section refers to growth requirements over the next 20 years. The different time spans are confusing, plus it is difficult to explain how the vision for 2050 would be achieved if the Plan is only delivering growth to the 2040s.