A CONSULTATION on new garden communities will be extended after councillors said it was too soon to put plans forward.

Colchester’s Local Plan Committee met on Monday to decide whether to roll out a consultation on two settlements - to the east of Colchester and at West Tey.

Some councillors and members of the Campaign Against Urban Sprawl in Essex said the consultation was premature, and should be saved for when new routes for the A12 and A120 have been chosen.

However the committee decided to start the consultation as planned, on November 13, and extend the deadline from January 8 to January 22.

Representatives from campaign groups said infrastructure had not been taken into consideration, however councillors in support said it would give residents a chance to have their say.

Andrew Ellis (Con), councillor for Marks Tey, said: “I have to say I believe this is premature, we haven’t got the answers we need on the re-routing of the A120 and A12.

“Despite asking we haven’t had an economic case for either development, if the planning inspector agrees garden communities are the way to go then that’s the time we should be putting this to consultation.

“It seems a mistake to be spending money on something that might not happen.”

A total of 24,000 homes could be built by 2033 in West Tey, and a further 7,500 homes are planned for the east of Colchester.

Tim Young (Lab), councillor for Greenstead, said it was the perfect time to consult.

He said: “We need to get the best result for Colchester. We need to get together and get this right.

“This isn’t about ‘if ’ or ‘when’, we should go ahead and really support these. Housing does upset people but here’s a chance to build real communities with jobs.”

Councillors also condemned a rise in house numbers 

COUNCILLORS are robustly opposing to a consultation proposed by Government to build more houses in Colchester.

Earlier this year the Government published a white paper called ‘Fixing our Broken Housing Market’.

A new method for working out housing need shows the annual housing target in Colchester would rise from 920 to 1,095 - an increase of 19 per cent.

If agreed, the new method would apply from March 31 next year. Figures also show the housing need would rise from 716 annually to 835 in Braintree, from 280 to 302 in Maldon, and from 550 to 749 in Tendring.

Colchester’s Local Plan Committee has come up with a response to the Government, condemning the proposals. The response said: “There are serious concerns the methodology proposed is too simplistic and results in targets that simply cannot be met.

“Local authorities such as Colchester seem to be penalised for delivering consistently high levels of housebuilding in the past.

“Those areas which have failed to deliver seem to be rewarded by lower targets.

“The method results in a north-south divide and this council wonders what message this sends out.”

The councillors agreed to make it clear to Government they were in opposition of the consultation, saying it will add complexity to the plan-making process.