Policy DM8 - Residential Standards

I would like to advise you that the Council do not wish to object to the document proposed for submission.

The Council in particular welcomes the development principles identified for Character Zone 1: Two Tree Island, Leigh Marshes and Belton Hills in Table 1. The Council are of the view that the maintenance of the Green Belt in this location is very important and consistent with national policy set out in PPG2.

The Council also welcomes the approach to employment distribution set out in Policy DM10 and Table 6. The direction of jobs towards easily accessible locations including Southend Central Area, London Southend Airport and existing employment areas along the A127 Corridor is important for residents of Castle Point, as Southend-on-Sea is a key employment location in the Thames Gateway South Essex sub-region.

Further to the comments above, I would like to offer some suggestions in respect of this document that may prove useful to you in moving forward:

a) It is agreed that water efficiency should be a requirement for new development in south Essex. The Code for Sustainable Homes includes water efficiency as a mandatory requirement at each level. I would therefore query why policy DM2 part 2 requires water efficiency at part (iii) when Code for Sustainable Homes requirements have already been set out in part (ii).

b) It is agreed that an appropriate split between the different tenures of affordable housing should be sought. However, it may be prudent, given the recent changes in the definition of affordable housing, that part 2(ii) of policy DM7 is amended to provide the flexibility to enable Affordable Rented units to be sought also.

c) It is queried as to why external storage for bicycles is not sought in respect of non-self contained accommodation in Policy Table 5. It is considered that student and nurses' accommodation is most often provided within close proximity of the study/work place and other services and facilities, and therefore the provision of cycle storage will promote more sustainable transport movements by these occupants.

I trust these comments are of assistance to you in moving forward with the Development Management DPD. Should any queries in respect of these representations arise through the examination process, we would be happy to deal with them through written representations. Officers will however attend the examination, if required, in order to support any consideration of the sub-regional context.

Essex County Council fully supports the preparation of the Development Management DPD. It will provide more detailed guidance which should greatly assist the process of securing high quality sustainable development in support of the strategic vision of the Core Strategy and meeting the needs of the community. The emphasis on a positive and proactive approach in pursuit of achieving better development outcomes through the whole Development Management process is welcomed. The County Council considers that the Proposed Submission is 'sound' but that the future use and practical application of the document would benefit from further reflection on a limited number of matters, which are set out in the schedule.

Pargraph 1.8 and 1.9 - the prinicple that the policies within the Development Management DPD should read alongside other statutory policy documents, and with each other, is fully supported. However, the statements would benefit from additional highlighting within the text, perhpas by 'boxing' them and giving the title 'Relationship of Policies'. The paragraphs could also be usuefully added for reference to the 'Policies' list in the contents section. The cross-referencing policies could be reinforced at appropriate points within the document, particularly the need for users to read and apply Policy DM16 alongside other Policies.

Paragraph 2.19 - should read also reference the Parklands Vision (2008) as a key document.

Paragraph 3.13 - the reference to the Greengrid Strategy is welcome but reference should be made to delivery of the Strategic Thames Estuary Path (Survey 2008). Appropriate additional text would be 'An important strategic link is the Thames Estuary Path which runs from Central London to Shoeburyness . It is particularly important in Southend linking the Seafront to Chalkwell, Leigh on Sea and beyond to Hadleigh, the venue for the Olympic Mountain biking event in 2012'.

Paragraph 3.14 - the reference to National Biodiversity designations is welcome but particular reference to their local importance could be included by additional of the following text - ' These sites are significant attractions in their own right and the mudflats at Southend and Leigh contribute to the estuarine character of the place. Furthermore Two Tree Island and Leigh Marshes are important visitor attractions which could be further developed to boost green economy.

Policy DM6 (The Seafront) - the policy could more proactively support the natural areas by adding a third measure to the first paragraph of the Policy to read 'iii) contribute to the positive appreciation of the natural resources by increased information facilities and, where possible, physical access'.

Paragraph 4.14 and Policy DM8 (Residential Standards) Policy Table 4 (Residential Standards) - the text of paragraph 4014 and Policy Table 4 is inconsistenet in respect of minimum storage area 'for each additional occupant'. The paragraph refers to 0.5m2 whereas the Policy Table refers to 0.25m2. Either the values should be consistent or the document should explain the reasons for the variation.