Epping Residents Group

'The Council is unable to consider the agenda item conerning the Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document at the Council meeting tonight. This is following the postponement of last night's Cabinet meeting, on Monday 21 December 2009, due to severe weather conditions.

Agreement has been given by the Leader of the Council to hold the rescheduled Cabinet meeting on Monday 4 January 2010. An extraordinary meeting of the Council will probably take place on Tuesday 19 January 2010, subject to the agreement of the Chairman of the Council.'


18 December 2009

EFDC have this week published the Counsel advice on progress with the Gypsy and Traveller Development Plan Document, and initial analysis of the Options Consultation responses.

Read the agenda item and full report at;

rds.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/Published/C00000296/M00005690/$$ADocPackPublic.pdf?ku0353527$RTW

rds.eppingforestdc.gov.uk/Published/C00000295/M00005699/$$ADocPackPublic.pdf?ku0353527$RTW


These issues will be debated at the Civic Offices Epping on 21st and 22nd December at 7pm and 7.30pm. These meetings will be webcast but if you would like to attend they are open to the public.

Recommendations/Decisions Required at the meetings are;

(1) To continue with the preparation of the Gypsy and Traveller DPD, pending the outcome of further discussions with the Government Office for the East of England (GO-East);
(2) To agree that the Options consultation sites cannot be rejected without formal consideration of the responses;
(3) To authorise officers to continue discussions with Counsel and GO-East about sites which are within or in close proximity to settlements;
(4) To consider the need for a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss the future preparation of the Gypsy and Traveller DPD;
(5) To note the initial results of the analysis of the consultation responses.

Gypsy and Traveller DPD which is considered in this report. Various options for action are rejected, and other options are discussed. Officers need to meet with GO-East in the light of the advice and because recent permissions and CLD decisions are making significant inroads into the Regional Spatial Strategy target set by the Single Issue Review. Members are asked to consider arranging a meeting with the relevant Minister to discuss the particular issues facing the District. Members are also asked to note the initial quantitative results of the Options consultation responses.

Reasons for Proposed Decision:
Any significant extension to the timetable for preparing the DPD will have significant implications for other Forward Planning work, notably the Core Strategy of the Local Development Framework. Ignoring or rejecting Counsel advice could lead to the intervention of the Secretary of State with decisions being taken on the location of sites for new pitches which are outside the control of this Council.

Also published are an analysis of the Consultation on options questionnaire.

Each questionnaire is considered as a single response and in the case of residents associations,parish councils and other groups not as multiple responses from individual signatories. Figures are calculated as a percentage of all the received responses and "no response" answers have been included. In total 2,066 responses were received. Of these responses, 271 were group responses. A total of 10,601 people responded in some way to the consultation. 

Our fund raising has put us in a good position to make a contribution to legal and planning professional opinion going forward and at a potential Examination in Public. We will continue to work with the other six resident and action groups in the area to prepare to defend our District from this innappropriate development of our Green Belt.