Mr David Smith BA (Hons) DMS MRTPI Date 18 November 2016 Planning Inspector Please ask for Matthew Winslow c/o Programme Officer Department Strategic Planning & Housing New Local Plan Policy The Council Offices Tel. No 01268 208045 Kiln Road, Benfleet, E-Mail matthew.winslow@.gov.uk SS7 1TF Your Ref IE/004 My Ref MJW/CP/LP/EIP/1 By Email: [email protected]

CASTLE POINT NEW LOCAL PLAN 2016 – DUTY TO COOPERATE

Dear Mr Smith,

Thank you for your letter dated 19 October 2016 giving Basildon Borough Council, alongside the other South Essex authorities, the opportunity to respond to the information provided by Castle Point Borough Council (IE/003) dated 14 October 2016 and respond to your additional questions, prior to the hearing session on 12 December 2016.

Firstly, if I may, I would like to highlight that Castle Point Borough Council has been instrumental in establishing the current working arrangements for the monthly strategic planning officer group meetings between the five South Essex LPAs and Essex County Council. These have recently been strengthened by the reintroduction of a Strategic Planning Members Group and the creation of a new Strategic Planning Heads of Service Group. This initial leadership is to be commended and has strengthened the historic joint working relationship of the combination of upper tier, lower tier and Unitary Authorities that make up South Essex planning and highway authorities and ensured there is a sound platform, process and governance structure to discuss matters of both strategic importance and common interest that affect South Essex.

I have taken each of your questions in turn below:

1. What is the latest position regarding your existing strategic development plan and the preparation of any post National Planning Policy Framework replacement Local Plan.

The extant Development Plan for the Basildon Borough consists of:

1) Basildon District Local Plan 1998 Saved Policies1 2) Essex and Southend on Sea Replacement Waste Local Plan 2001 Saved Policies2, 3

1 Saved by virtue of Direction from Secretary of State on 20 September 2007

3) Essex Minerals Plan 20144

In respects of the post National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) replacement Local Plan, the Local Development Scheme (LDS), which was most recently updated on 17 October 2016 into a 7th edition, charts future plan-making activities of Basildon Borough Council for the period 2016-2018. It can be viewed on the Council’s website via this link: http://www.basildon.gov.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2012. As can be seen, the Council is at an advanced stage in preparing its Local Plan and intends to have a Publication Local Plan by the end of March 2017.

For context it should be noted that between 2011 and 2014, the Council was preparing a Local Development Framework (LDF), as advocated by the former national Planning Policy Statement 12. This consisted a Core Strategy Preferred Options Report in 2012 and a Revised Preferred Options Report in 2014. Following the consideration of the Statement of Consultation on the latter, together with the deliberation of the National Planning Policy Framework and new Planning Practice Guidance, the Council decided to switch its format and prepare a single Local Plan; amending its LDS accordingly in December 2014.

Subsequently it consulted on the first single Draft Local Plan pursuant to Regulation 18 of the Town and Country Planning (Local Development) () Regulations 2012 between January and March 2016. It received c. 21,500 comments during the 8 week public consultation. At a meeting on 29 September 2016, the Council’s Cabinet noted all valid submissions as being “duly made”, agreed responses to them and identified 52 corresponding Key Actions. The Council is now in the process of addressing those actions, as well as preparing and finalising its Publication Local Plan.

2. The Council refers to various planning constraints affecting the New Local Plan. Is your authority affected by similar, or other constraints and, if so, what are they?

Basildon Council acknowledges the differences between the two Boroughs in terms of some planning constraints, but wishes to draw your attention to others which are notably similar.

The Metropolitan Green Belt comprises 63% of the Basildon Borough’s total land area. Parts of the Green Belt contribute greatly to the specific purpose of preventing coalescence, including with urban areas in neighbouring authority areas such as Castle Point.

2 Saved by virtue of Direction from Secretary of State on 20 September 2007 3 Prepared by the Waste Planning Authority for Basildon Borough – Essex County Council 4 Prepared by the Minerals Planning Authority for Basildon Borough – Essex County Council 2

The Basildon Borough's landscape comprises urban development, arable farmland, permanent grazing with hedgerows, woodland and a large area of Thames Estuary marshland. It also contains significant areas of Plotland, characterised by a mosaic of scrub, grassland and relict woodland habitats with small-scale communities of a rural nature, set within the Green Belt.

In respects of environmental constraints, the Borough does not have any areas directly covered by Ramsar5, Special Protection Area (SPA)6, Special Areas of Conservation (SAC)7 habitat designations; neither does it have any Areas of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB), National/ Regional Parks, National Nature Reserves (NNR), Regionally Important Geological Sites (RIGS), or Historic Parks & Gardens within its boundary. However, for the purposes of plan-making, the Council has acknowledged that it is within close proximity to such environmental constraints in neighbouring boroughs/districts and others much further afield (which relate to the Borough’s water cycle) and therefore it must be mindful of cumulative, or in combination effects that could arise from plan-making or projects.

To the south of Vange, and Bowers Gifford there remains land, which is largely open and set aside for grazing, recreation or biodiversity which is susceptible to tidal flooding from the .

The Basildon Borough has 6 Sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), 16 areas of ancient woodland covering 247ha (including those that adjoin neighbouring authorities), three Scheduled Monuments, 125 Listed Buildings, four Conservation Areas, 54 Local Wildlife Sites, Common Land, Village & Town Greens, Local Nature Reserves and various areas at risk from fluvial, groundwater and pluvial flooding in both the urban and rural areas.

3. Are there development requirements that your authority is likely to be unable to meet within your own area, or infrastructure that is unlikely to be provided without assistance from other authorities? If that is the case, what are they?

Yes, there are development requirements that the Council is unlikely to be able to meet within the Borough, and infrastructure that is unlikely to be provided without the assistance from other authorities. Aside from localised highway schemes, which need the support of Essex County Council as the Highways Authority, these are:

5 As classified by the UNESCO Ramsar Convention 1971 6 As classified by the EC Birds Directive 1979 7 As classified by the EC Habitats Directive 1992 3

Development Requirements

 136 pitches for unmet unauthorised growth needs for Gypsies, Travellers and Travelling Showpeople until 2033

Infrastructure

 A130/A127/A1245 Fairglen Interchange Upgrade  Cranfield Park Road/Pound Lane New A127 Junction  A127 Route and Junction Upgrades  A13 Route and Junction Upgrades  South/south west relief route for  Secondary school provision  Enhanced public transport network, cycle ways and public footpaths

Are there any other significant cross boundary issues affecting your plan making that you are aware of?

As part of the Council’s preparation of its post NPPF Local Plan, it has identified the following specific cross boundary issues that affect its plan-making. Through a combination of joint evidence, joint working and/or dialogue with other Duty to Cooperate bodies, including relevant local authorities, Basildon Council is currently in the process of trying to find solutions to these challenges, as well as seeking to influence other organisations’ strategic and local decisions, so they are addressed through a more combined approach, as far as possible. The more significant ones are:

 The final route and delivery of the Lower Thames Crossing;  Flood risk & drainage management in lower valley and River Thames estuary, including implementation of South Essex Surface Water Management Plan, Essex Local Flood Risk Management Strategy and Thames 2100 Plan;  The future use of land on the Brentwood/Basildon boundary to the west of the Basildon Borough;  Gypsy, Traveller and Travelling Showpeople unmet unauthorised needs and transit site provision;  The new A127/Cranfield Park Road/Pound Lane grade separated junction and link roads into City & District areas to unlock capacity to deliver development locations in East Basildon, and the wider area;  The A127/A130/A1245 Fairglen Interchange Upgrade;  The capacity of the A127 and A13 routes to accommodate growth and options for enhancement;

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 The capacity and upgrade options for new and upgrades healthcare services;  The capacity and upgrade options to facilitate additional secondary school provision; and  Housing pressures from Greater .

4. Section 4 of the Duty to Cooperate Report (CO/05/19) lists matters the Council considers to be of strategic importance in South Essex. Do you agree?

Basildon Borough Council notes the ten Strategic Planning Matters identified by Castle Point Borough Council in its Duty to Cooperate Report (CP/05/019) and agrees that these represent the thematic matters of strategic importance in South Essex, which underpin the officer and member cooperation activities and joint working agenda.

5. Do you have any observations to make on factual matters contained in the Council’s letter of 14 October regarding events and/or actions that have taken place?

Basildon Borough Council does have observations to make on factual matters contained in Castle Point’s letter and is grateful for being given the opportunity to comment about them. I set these out below against your corresponding questions. I do not have any comments to make in respects of Questions 2, 3, 5, 6 and 9.

Question 1…I therefore request that the Council provides specific detail of actions to seek the co-operation of key partners in relation to the preparation of the New Local Plan?:

Had Castle Point Borough Council continued with its principled approach, as set out in its New Local Plan 2014 to accommodate as much of its own development needs within its boundaries, whilst respecting strategic Green Belt gaps between Bowers Gifford and Benfleet, it is unlikely Basildon Borough Council would be in the same position as now; where it is maintaining a Duty to Cooperate objection to the Castle Point New Local Plan. At that time, the Council had accepted that Castle Point Borough Council had done all it could to accommodate its growth needs and would find it difficult to meet its shortfall. What had not occurred up to that point, however, was that the mechanism/s had not been identified that would be used to facilitate how the wider South Essex Housing Market Area would address that unmet need in its future years, either within Castle Point (as part of an early review of the New Local Plan), or as part of the different local plan processes of other South Essex authorities (or further afield).

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Officer conversations did occur as prior to and during 2014 (as noted on Page 4 of the letter) to identify ways in which Basildon Borough could work with Castle Point Borough, through the Duty to Cooperate, to explore strategic planning and cross boundary matters. This included how the two post NPPF Local Plans of Basildon and Castle Point could work in tandem to strengthen the role of the strategic Green Belt gap between Bowers Gifford and through careful land use choices. This included exploring whether Basildon Borough would consider accommodating some of Castle Point’s strategic open space needs within the Green Belt gap, with a means of improving access to green infrastructure arising from both Borough’s populations, which could have also served to maximise the amount of land that could be set aside for housing in Castle Point; recognising its challenges in respects of land supply.

As remarked on the first full paragraph of Page 2, Basildon Council was one of the neighbouring authorities that was generally supportive of the draft New Local Plan published in March 2014, where the authority proposed to use its urban capacity and some of its Green Belt on its urban fringe to meet as much of its Objectively Assessed Needs (OAN) as possible. Basildon Council accepted, at that time, that given the physical environmental constraints present in Castle Point Borough, some of which are different from the Basildon Borough context (tidal flood risk in settled areas and proximity to major hazardous installations), that it was unlikely that enough land would be able to be identified within Castle Point to meet all of its development needs in full during the plan period.

Gypsy & Traveller Accommodation

Basildon Council would like to draw to your attention that there was earlier engagement than indicated in respects of seeking assistance with unmet Gypsy and Traveller accommodation. Page 26 of CP/05/002 sets out that Basildon Council alerted Castle Point Borough Council to a lack of authorised sites for Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation as a sub-regional weakness as part of its Issues Consultation in 2012, which it was hoped the Castle Point New Local Plan could contribute towards tackling in the future through the processes of the Duty to Cooperate.

Furthermore, page 57 of CP/05/006 (2014) notes that the consultation responses to the Draft New Local Plan included an objection from Basildon Council in respects of how it had considered the sub-regional needs for unauthorised Gypsy & Traveller Accommodation growth, as set out to Key Issue 7. It noted that Basildon Borough Council had indicated to Castle Point Borough Council that it still believed it may experience its own difficulties in meeting the significant needs for such accommodation and sought for Castle Point Borough Council to accommodate its own Gypsy and Traveller pitch growth, and some additional pitches from Basildon Borough’s unmet needs. It should be noted that Basildon Council had made it clear the provision of unmet Gypsy and Traveller Accommodation was a strategic matter that

6 should be considered as part of the Duty to Cooperate. This section of the report does go on to note that an option Castle Point Borough Council could consider further was to have a more flexible criteria based policy that could meet Castle Point’s own needs and some of Basildon Borough’s, but within Castle Point; although that had not been quantified.

Question 4 – to what extent have councillors been directly involved in any specific Duty to Cooperate activities?

Basildon Council does not dispute the engagement activities Castle Point refer to in its letter, in respects of councillors across South Essex having previously met to discuss, debate and consider strategic planning and cross boundary matters which affect wider plan-making in the sub-region.

The demise of the South Essex Strategic Planning and Transport Board in 2014 however (following political changes in some of the South Essex authorities following the May 2014 elections and the establishment of an alternative joint arrangement in March 2016), left a vacuum in meaningful and collective South Essex Member strategic planning engagement of around 18 months. During this time, only the Leaders of the authorities met on a regular basis through the South Essex Growth Partnership, as well as the Cabinet Members for Housing as part of the South Essex Housing Group; however both these fora were established for different purposes and the Duty to Cooperate is not their primary focus.

Basildon Borough Council is therefore disappointed that despite the vacuum mentioned above, and in light of the significant change of direction the New Local Plan took following the conclusion of its Task & Finish Group process in 2015, there was no further “member to member” engagement arranged on the proposed change of direction, or its implications for the wider South Essex Housing Market Area by Castle Point Borough Council. Such a substantial change in direction should have triggered South Essex member engagement by other means, in the absence of any other formal group, prior to the New Local Plan being finalised. The first Basildon Council was formally notified about the new levels of unmet need, it was in Castle Point Borough Council’s response to the Basildon Draft Local Plan dated 24 March 2016 which stated:

“In general terms the Basildon Draft Local Plan is appropriate. It seeks to follow a strategy which meets objectively assessed needs, providing the required numbers of homes and jobs, whilst at the same time protecting the strategic function of the Green Belt, and aligned growth to improvements in infrastructure, especially transport...Basildon Council is to be commended for developing a plan which will meet housing and employment needs. Furthermore the Plan’s commitment to protecting the strategic Green Belt function to the east of Basildon, particularly between Pitsea, Bowers Gifford and the boundary with is welcomed. Finally in terms of housing numbers and as Castle Point is not able to meet its housing needs, it is

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recommended that Basildon Council is asked to consider meeting some of Castle Point’s unmet need in the Basildon Plan.”

Unfortunately, given Castle Point’s Full Council had already approved the Publication New Local Plan the day previous, it was too late for Basildon Council to then have meaningful and effective strategic planning discussions of the implications of such a change, which is the basis for its duty to cooperate objection.

Question 7 - How have Duty to Cooperate actions maximised the effectiveness of plan preparation?

Until late 2015/early 2016, the Council is more satisfied that duty to cooperate actions had maximised effectiveness of the Castle Point New Local Plan preparation and the policy deliberations and choices it had made. The 2016 New Local Plan however, and its fundamental change of approach in respect of removing most Green Belt locations from housing land supply was not informed by further duty to cooperate activities. Rather, it appears to have been based on the findings and recommendations of a Task and Finish Group process only and no further opportunity for effective inter-authority councillor duty to cooperate discussions was possible.

Question 8 – What solutions have emerged to achieve effective strategic planning policies?

The Council does not dispute the joint efforts or solutions that have been used to try and achieve effective strategic planning policies in South Essex; these have also been of mutual benefit to the preparation of the Basildon Borough Draft Local Plan to date.

However, what Castle Point’s summarised response highlights is that no solutions to the challenges presented, (as a result of Castle Point’s New Local Plan taking a sudden change of direction) have been explored in terms of implications for South Essex. It is equally disappointing that despite the approach for Basildon Borough to help Castle Point Borough meet unmet housing needs, there has been a change of recognition from Castle Point in respects of Basildon Borough’s significant unmet gypsy and traveller pitch needs, despite these being raised more than once through informal dialogue and formal responses to Castle Point’s Local Plan preparation process since 2012.

Question 10 – What steps or mechanisms are in place to distribute unmet housing need elsewhere in the HMA, or beyond?

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The Council agrees that regular engagement has taken place at officer and Leader level, and with the exception of an 18 month gap between 2014 and 2016, Strategic Planning Members too.

Following the approval of the South Essex Planning and Transport Strategy in 2013, it has also been agreed that a voluntary South Essex Strategic Planning & Infrastructure Framework would be a useful process to jointly invest in. PAS guidance has been used since 2014 to assemble topic papers on strategic planning and cross boundary matters; which in turn have led to the commissioning of some joint evidence (Strategic Housing Market Assessment, Economic Development Needs Assessment, etc.) to fill gaps in information, or to reach an informed view as to how best to coordinate different land use pressures and opportunities in South Essex boroughs and districts. Many of these major evidence reviews are due to conclude in 2016/2017, when work to pull these into a voluntary framework can then commence.

Question 11 - What is the rationale for reducing the housing requirement from 4,000 to 2,000?

Page 12 of the letter states that Castle Point Borough Council took a decision in Jan 2016 as a result of the Task & Finish Groups during 2015 to not support the Draft New Local Plan that had, in part, been the product of officer to officer engagement and formal Council responses from Basildon Borough Council as a neighbouring Local Planning Authority. It goes on to advise that in February 2016, a motion of Full Council supported a New Local Plan be devised that prioritised the protection of open Green Belt land and respected other constraints and therefore did not meet OAN in full. Again, Basildon Council would like to point out that it does not believe that Castle Point’s Borough Council undertook effective engagement, prior to and as a result of this decision.

Formal engagement was then only made after the agreement to publish the New Local Plan had been taken on 23 March 2016, which in Basildon Council’s view was too late.

Question 12 – When were neighbouring authorities within the HMA made aware of the Council’s intention not to meet its full OAN and of the reduction referred to above?

The Council agree that it has always been clear Castle Point would struggle, due to physical environment constraints, to be able to meet its needs in full. It is also agreed that housing needs in the housing market area and the abilities for each LPA to meet their share is to be an ongoing challenge for duty to cooperate discussions and activities; a discussion topic which was been regularly raised at officer and member meetings which oversaw the production of the Strategic Housing Market Assessment during 2015. However, despite these physical

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constraints, which naturally limited its ability to meet identified OAN, Castle Point Council decided to artificially supress its housing target even further, by removing most of its Green Belt land supply options, with just a few exceptions. This decision did not take into account South Essex’s wider role in Thames Gateway, the joint abilities of the authorities to be able to meet unmet needs, the joint challenges in unlocking and facilitating infrastructure upgrades, etc. which are all strategic planning/ cross boundary matters and therefore covered by the Duty to Cooperate. In focussing on the Green Belt alone, it has ignored wider strategic planning matters which affect all of South Essex and undermine the ability of the wider area to achieve sustainable development. In taking the decision, prior to any discussions with neighbouring areas, and thus enabling them to review their own circumstances and feed into the Castle Point New Local Plan further, it has breached the duty to cooperate by being ineffective from the conclusion of the Task & Finish Group process to the approval of the New Local Plan.

13. Has the Council considered whether it should meet any unmet housing requirements from neighbouring authorities?

As mentioned above, Basildon Borough Council has made repeated comments to Castle Point Borough Council since 2012, informally and formally that it is unlikely that it would be able to meet its full needs for Gypsy & Traveller pitches during the plan period. Basildon Borough Council does not consider that this matter has been adequately dealt with by Castle Point Borough Council in its New Local Plan.

14. How has the Duty to Cooperate been fulfilled in light of the circumstances of an unmet need for sites in Basildon & and a requirement for 5 additional pitches in Castle Point?

As set out elsewhere in this letter, the Council disputes this and can provide reference to Castle Point’s own Core Documents which pinpoint to repeatedly raising this issue since 2012. Most recently, Basildon Council raised this in its formal Duty to Cooperate meeting it held with South Essex authorities, Brentwood Borough, Essex County and the London Borough of Havering in November 2015, prior to finalising its own Draft Local Plan.

6. In light of the information provided by the Council do you now consider that the Duty to Cooperate has been met? If not, please briefly confirm why and draw attention to any particular strategic matters that lead you to that view.

Basildon Borough Council does not consider that the Duty to Cooperate has been effectively met on an ongoing basis.

For the combined reasons stated in response to Question 5 above, given the member engagement vacuum and the significant change of direction the New Local Plan took in three months from the end of 2015 to March 2016, there was

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specific and alternative member to member engagement in particular on this, or discussions on its implications for the wider South Essex Housing Market Area by Castle Point Borough Council. Such a substantial change should have triggered further new member to member engagement, followed by officer to officer engagement to explore issues and seek solutions for more effective outcomes. Whilst the Council was requested to help Castle Point Borough Council meet its unmet housing needs, this was not formally done until Castle Point Borough Council responded to the Basildon Borough Draft Local Plan on 24 March 2016. Whilst this is noted that it had at least done so, unfortunately it had already taken the legal decision as a Local Planning Authority the day before, to publish the plan under legislative requirements and submit to the Secretary of State following public consultation. Subsequently the New Local Plan could not benefit from any amendments in light of the Council’s duty to cooperate engagement with other local planning authorities.

I trust that this response assists you and the Examination in Public, however if there are any matters which you need to clarify beforehand, please do not hesitate to contact me.

Yours sincerely,

W

Matthew Winslow BSc. (Hons) MSc. MRTPI Service Manager – Strategic Planning & Housing Strategy

Basildon Borough Council The Basildon Centre, St Martin’s Square Basildon, Essex SS14 1DL 11 Tel: 01268 533333 www.basildon.gov.uk