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Representation ID: 505

Received: 02/10/2013

Respondent: JTS Partnership LLP

Agent: JTS Partnership LLP

The Council‟s preferred spatial strategy seeks to focus the majority of new development, a) within the existing urban areas of Brentwood and Shenfield, b) at a new strategic allocation at West Horndon and c) on suitable previously developed sites in the Green Belt. Whilst it acknowledges the difficult balancing act that the Council has to perform, in preparing a Local Plan that fulfils the economic, social and environmental roles ascribed to the planning system by the NPPF (paragraph 7), it is noted that the overriding priority given to protecting the Green Belt means that the Council has chosen not to plan for OAN (as is required by paragraphs 17, 47 and 182 of the NPPF). As such, it considers that the Borough Council may find it difficult to convince an Inspector, at the forthcoming Examination, that the Plan is "sound‟. It is also noted that the failure to make provision for full housing need is inconsistent with the Plan‟s Vision, with Strategic Objective SO8 and with the Council‟s Corporate Plan. It is the Company‟s view that the Plan would be more robust if the Council could find additional housing sites, consistent with the Spatial Strategy set out in the policy.