In 2023 Uttlesford District Council (UDC) undertook a public consultation on its Draft Regulation 18 Local Plan. This allocated sites for development around the district between 2024 and 2041.
Stansted was allocated 390 dwellings across two sites:
- Land to the north of Walpole Meadows – 250 homes (Bloor Homes wish to increase this to 270)
- Land to the east of High Lane – 140 homes
The Stansted Mountfitchet Parish Council is in discussions with the developers to try to secure community benefits from these developments.
A third site
During the consultation process, a third site came forward on land at Church Road – effectively an extension of the development at Elms Farm – and UDC asked SMPC to consider whether it would support the site.
The key difference with this site is that it sits within the Metropolitan Green Belt and the developers would have to demonstrate special circumstances for it to be removed from that designation.
UDC’s current policy is not to allow development within the MGB, which is in place to prevent communities coalescing (merging). UDC members would have to weigh up whether or not there was sufficient evidence to ask a Planning Inspector to remove the site from the MGB.
The landowners/developers offered a number of significant community benefits, but SMPC decided at its meeting on 22 May 2024 that, whilst the benefits would be considerable, it could only support this if the total number of new dwellings did not increase much above the 390 already proposed.
Church Road – a question of numbers
Discussion took place with UDC officers to establish whether the numbers on the other two sites could be reduced, with the total number of dwellings spread across three sites, or to remove one of the other allocations.
They responded that this would not be possible. As the condition set by the Parish Council could not be met, it is therefore unable to support the inclusion of the Church Road site.
If approved by its Full Council, UDC intends to take the Draft Regulation 19 Local Plan to public consultation in August and September 2024.