Residents will be asked to have their say as part of a full-scale review of Tendring District Council (TDC)’s Local Plan after housebuilding targets were doubled on instruction from the Government.

TDC had already begun work on reviewing its Local Plan – the district’s blueprint for future growth and policy for guiding planning decisions - and extending its timeframe to 2041. Councils are required to review and update their Local Plans every five years, but they have to comply with Government policy.

The Local Plan review had to be put on hold last summer after the Government launched a consultation on proposed changes to the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and the introduction of mandatory housebuilding targets for Councils, as part of its ambition to build 1.5million new homes across the country over the next five years.

Despite TDC raising concerns about the proposals, the Government published its finalised framework in December, pushing ahead with its new approach to housebuilding targets.

A report that went before the council’s Planning Policy and Local Plan Committee on Monday, 10 February, said that as a result of the change, Tendring’s housebuilding target will increase from 550 homes per year to 1,034 homes per year starting January 2026.

During the discussion, the committee raised concerns about the sudden increase in housing required by the new targets, and a potential backlog for government Planning Inspectors examining and signing off Local Plans due to the number of local authorities being in the same position.

The new target requires the Council to plan for an additional 7,000-8,000 new homes by 2041 over and above the 9,600 already in the pipeline as part of current plans.

Before the change in Government policy, the council had been expecting to consult residents on six different options for accommodating 3,000-4,000 extra homes in Tendring, but a doubling of that requirement to 7,000-8,000 has required the Council to go back to the drawing board.

Four new alternatives have now instead been identified for public consultation.

All the options include proposals for major growth in the Harwich area, the potential establishment of two or more new garden villages on key transport corridors, with different scales of development across the district’s other towns and villages.

The options include:

• Option A – A120 and Railway Focus. In addition to significant growth at Harwich, and smaller scale development around villages across the district, this option proposes the establishment of two new garden villages of between 1,500 and 5,000 homes – one in the Frating/Great Bromley/Hare Green area and one at Horsley Cross, as part of an A120-focussed growth strategy delivering road connectivity improvements. It also includes more growth around the district’s larger villages with railway stations.  

• Option B – Central Triangle of Garden Villages. As well as garden villages at Frating/Great Bromley/Hare Green and Horsley Cross, this option includes a third garden village at Weeley, delivering around 1,000 new homes through strategic expansion with good access to the rail and road networks.

• Option C – A133/B1033 Garden Villages. This option proposes three new garden villages – one at Frating/Great Bromley/Hare Green, one at Weeley, and one at Thorpe-le-Soken, as part of an A133/B1033 focussed strategy, delivering improvements to the capacity of the A133 and a possible bypass around Thorpe. Other large villages with railway stations would experience a level of growth proportionate to their existing size.

• Option D – Four Garden Villages. This option proposes four new garden villages – one at Horsley Cross, one at Frating/Great Bromley/Hare Green, one at Weeley, and one at Thorpe-le-Soken. This option combines the strategy from the previous options, promoting growth on the A120 corridor towards Harwich, and the A133/B1033 corridor towards Clacton, Frinton and Walton.

Councillor Andy Baker, TDC’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Planning, said: “These new mandatory targets double the number of homes that will need to identify as part of the Local Plan Review. While it is a shame that the Government did not take on board our genuine concern about the numbers, at least we now know the scale of the challenge we face.  

“We need to identify sites for up to 8,000 extra homes in Tendring over and above the 9,600 homes already in the pipeline.

“The sheer scale of the increase presents some very big challenges and means we have had to go back to the drawing board with the options.

“While we recognise the need for more housing, which will help to tackle homelessness and issues with affordability, these housebuilding targets are going to be very tough to achieve – most towns and villages in the district will be affected in some way and it is likely we will also need to establish a number of new garden villages.

“The Council remains committed to progressing with the Local Plan review, now with clarity on housebuilding targets, and I will be keen to hear residents’ views as part of a public consultation.”

The updated Issues and Options document, incorporating the proposed changes, will go out for consultation this Spring.

Following the first consultation, the preferred options are set to be considered by the Council this Summer/Autumn before the final draft is published for a second consultation in Winter 2025/6.

It is expected that the final plan will then be submitted to the Secretary of State for public examination in early 2026.