Policy DM7 - Dwelling Mix

I would like to advise you that the Council do not wish to object to the document proposed for submission.

The Council in particular welcomes the development principles identified for Character Zone 1: Two Tree Island, Leigh Marshes and Belton Hills in Table 1. The Council are of the view that the maintenance of the Green Belt in this location is very important and consistent with national policy set out in PPG2.

The Council also welcomes the approach to employment distribution set out in Policy DM10 and Table 6. The direction of jobs towards easily accessible locations including Southend Central Area, London Southend Airport and existing employment areas along the A127 Corridor is important for residents of Castle Point, as Southend-on-Sea is a key employment location in the Thames Gateway South Essex sub-region.

Further to the comments above, I would like to offer some suggestions in respect of this document that may prove useful to you in moving forward:

a) It is agreed that water efficiency should be a requirement for new development in south Essex. The Code for Sustainable Homes includes water efficiency as a mandatory requirement at each level. I would therefore query why policy DM2 part 2 requires water efficiency at part (iii) when Code for Sustainable Homes requirements have already been set out in part (ii).

b) It is agreed that an appropriate split between the different tenures of affordable housing should be sought. However, it may be prudent, given the recent changes in the definition of affordable housing, that part 2(ii) of policy DM7 is amended to provide the flexibility to enable Affordable Rented units to be sought also.

c) It is queried as to why external storage for bicycles is not sought in respect of non-self contained accommodation in Policy Table 5. It is considered that student and nurses' accommodation is most often provided within close proximity of the study/work place and other services and facilities, and therefore the provision of cycle storage will promote more sustainable transport movements by these occupants.

I trust these comments are of assistance to you in moving forward with the Development Management DPD. Should any queries in respect of these representations arise through the examination process, we would be happy to deal with them through written representations. Officers will however attend the examination, if required, in order to support any consideration of the sub-regional context.