HENHAM PARISH COUNCIL
Dear Resident
Henham Parish Council (HPC) have now taken legal and planning advice on how best to respond to the Reg19 Local Plan consultation, and how to advise you to respond. The Reg 19 Local Plan allocates the housing need for Uttlesford (UDC) until 2041 and, more importantly, where the dwellings should be built. At present HPC considers the allocation to Henham Parish to be unfair, and we have a need to protect Henham from unsustainable growth.
We have listed our concerns as bullet points, and we ask that you support our concerns. How to respond is explained at the end of this flyer.
- This process started as a Parish based allocation. This meant that Henham’s allocation had already been met by the Bloor settlement of which 200 dwellings were in Henham Parish.
- Following the Regulation 18 consultation on late 2023 UDC changed the rules to include ‘Settlements’ which although within Parishes did not count towards their allocations. The Bloor allocations were therefore not included in the Henham figures.
- The question about this change was not asked in the Reg 18 consultation. The change was not specifically mentioned at either UDC Local Plan Panel, UDC Cabinet or in the Reg 19 consultation.
- In addition, the Reg 19 consultation allocates a further 110 dwellings to the Bloor ‘settlement’ again without consultation or warning.
- This decision means the 310 dwellings have been allocated to Henham Parish without consultation.
- Again, in addition, the Reg 19 consultation allocates a further 121 dwellings to be built in Henham Parish. This means in effect we have been allocated 431 dwellings in the Reg 19 consultation.
- Henham is identified in the Reg 19 consultation documents issued by UDC as a ‘Larger Village’. There are 12 larger villages who are expected to share 600 dwellings. The distribution of these 600 dwellings across the villages does not, in the HPC view, reflect the true capacity for growth since many larger villages have more facilities than Henham.
- How that 600 will be allocated is through a complex weighted methodology that looks at matters such as current population, the provision of services and facilities, existing completions and permissions and capacity of available sites. It is a UDC methodology not a National one.
- Henham has a very limited range of local facilities. It has a very limited bus service. Residents must use their cars for shopping, leisure, secondary schooling, work, commuting, and medical appointments. In addition, the appalling road through Stansted Mountfitchet, a single lane road which, as the main route to Bishops Stortford, been recognised by Essex Highways as full, with many hundreds of homes still to be built.
- The development of 45 dwellings in Henham Village was refused by UDC Planning Committee as the location was in an unsustainable location. This was overturned at appeal but only on the grounds of the lack of a UDC 5-year housing shortfall.
- The planning application for 220 houses in Bedwell Road, half of which are in Henham Parish, has not yet been determined. If this application is successful then 110 of the 220 should be credited to Henham Parish figures.
HPC asks that residents respond to the Reg19 consultation by the 14th of October. Please use some of the list above to articulate your concerns for Henham or any other considerations you may have. It’s very easy to respond by either going to the portal at www.uttlesford.gov.uk/new-local-plan or simply send an email to localplan@uttlesford.gov.uk, don’t forget to put your name on your submission.
Thank you
Nick Baker
Chair
Henham Parish CouncilResidents response to Local Plan 19