Halstead Town Council is considering whether to prepare a town plan.

The document is created by a steering group made up of councillors and residents and is an action plan of what needs to be doing to improve the town for the people who live in it.

In August 2001, a report called Ideal Futures for Halstead was created as a forerunner for a town plan.

However, the development of this was interrupted by severe flooding and it was never turned into a town plan.

It was suggested by the council’s internal auditor that councillors should look into creating a financial plan, which could then be expanded into a town plan.

At the town council meeting on Monday, Jan Stobart of Rural Community Council of Essex gave a presentation about how this was created.

The cost of the scheme would be in the region of £7-£8,000, but grants are available of £750 from Braintree Council and £1,500 from Essex County Council.

A decision on whether to go ahead with a town plan and the formation of a steering group was due to take place on Monday’s meeting, but had to be deferred to the next meeting on October 12 after they ran out of time to discuss the item.