Duty to Cooperate
Record of Co-operation
SDCBC/05
October 2017 Table of Contents
Section Page Number
1. Introduction 1
2. The Colchester Context 2
3. The process that has taken place – how the Duty has been met A. Duty to cooperate with neighbouring authorities on 2 Local Plan matters B. Co-operation with Cross Boundary Groups 5 and Organisations
4. Strategic Issues – Introduction 6
5. Housing 7
6. Employment 14
7. Infrastructure 19
8. Creating Quality Places 43
9. Garden Communities 47
10. Conclusion 56
Appendices 1. Memordanda of Understanding/Cooperation 1A. Memoranda of Cooperation between Braintree, Chelmsford, Colchester, Essex and Tendring Council 57 1B. Memoranda of Understanding between the University of Essex and Colchester, Essex and Tendring Councils 62
2. Mechanism for agreeing Unmet Housing Need 66
3. Cabinet reports and appendices from Braintree (3A), 69 Colchester(3B) and Tendring (3C) Councils on Local Delivery Vehicles for Garden Communities
1. Introduction
1.1 This statement sets out how Colchester Borough Council has met the requirements of the duty to cooperate in preparing its Local Plan. It follows the suggested format contained in the August 2015 Planning Advisory Service Duty to Cooperate Statement Template. Given that Colchester’s Section1 of the Local Plan has been submitted jointly with Braintree and Tendring District Councils, the format of this statement primarily considers the Duty to Cooperate in the context of this joint approach.
1.2 Section 110 of the Localism Act transposes the duty to cooperate in to the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004 and introduces section 33A, which sets out a duty to cooperate in relation to the planning of sustainable development. The duty to cooperate applies to all local planning authorities, county councils and prescribed bodies, and requires that they must co-operate with each other in maximising the effectiveness with which development plan documents are prepared.
1.3 The Localism Act states that, in particular, the duty to cooperate requires that engagement should occur constructively, actively and on an ongoing basis during the plan-making process. It also states that regard must be had to the activities of other authorities where these are relevant to the local planning authority in question. National policy makes it clear that the Duty to Co-operate is not a ‘duty to agree’, but that every effort should be made to secure necessary cooperation before submission of a Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate.
1.4 The neighbouring authorities and prescribed relevant bodies for the purposes of section 33A of the Act, as set out by the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) (England) Regulations 2012 are: