Essex County Council fully supports the preparation of the Central Area Action Plan. It will provide more detailed guidance which should greatly assist the process of securing high quality sustainable development of the Central Area to meet the needs of the community. It is noted that the preferred option, 'The City by the Sea' option, is described as the most ambitious of the three options put forward in the document. The success for this option will be dependent on the strength and effectiveness of, and continued commitment to, the implementation and delivery mechanisms to be further elaborated in the final version of the document.