Epping Forest unexplained planning delay slows progress towards affordable housing, sustainable transport, educational infrastructure and GP improvements!

A Chigwell Row Residents Association review of the planning application for Chigwell Primary Academy evidences political bias in Epping.  A  planning application with the potential to have massive long-term benefit to our local community is being delayed over the lack of desire to follow through on a financial agreement by the developers for our local yellow bus.

The planning application will include a large donation towards affordable housing which will be offsite, meaning it will create less burden on the already poor infrastructure in Chigwell. The application has met the special conditions set by District Council for development of our Green Belt when investigated by the District's Senior Planning Officer.

Here is what our community is missing out on by the delay to the planning application for Chigwell Primary Academy.

  (2)        That the Legal Agreement under Section 106 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 be concluded prior to any development on the site to secure the following planning obligations:

 

            a) an affordable housing contribution of £3,000,000 for offsite affordable housing provision;

 

            b) a local transport infrastructure contribution of £800,000;

 

            c) an early years education infrastructure contribution of £92,336;

 

            d) a secondary education contribution of £273,925;

 

            e) a health care contribution for local GP capacity improvement of £22,402;

 

            f) a contribution to mitigation of recreational pressure on the Epping Forest Special Area of Conservation of £20,768;

 

g) a community facility enhancement contribution in accordance with the identified local Infrastructure Delivery Plan requirements of £60,563.81;

The decision made at the District Development Management Committee, Wednesday, 18th March, 2020, stated:

 Decision:

(1)        That planning application EPF/1681/19 at Chigwell Primary Academy in the High Road, Chigwell be approved subject to a Legal Agreement under Section 106 of the Town & Country Planning Act 1990 and the following conditions:

A list of all the conditions (which is very normal for a planning application) can be viewed by (clicking here)

An extract from the planning application review decision, reads as follows:

"The Senior Planning Officer informed the Committee that Planning Officers had concluded the provision of a new School was a significant improvement from the previous scheme to refurbish the current facilities, and would provide a building with a longer potential lifespan. 

"The benefits to the local area in general and the school community in particular would far outweigh any harm to the Green Belt. 

"This also confirmed the previous assessment that the proposals provided unique and very special circumstances to justify the development in the Green Belt."

The disgusting delay will force many elderly parents and families with young children to pay for a bus service (from 5th October) that was meant to be a free resource for at least 10 years.  Parishioners have had to endure an increase in council tax and a loss of close to £150,000 from our Parish Council General reserve which will come to waste. 

There is a desire from some to divert money that had originally been desired for the yellow buses to be allocated to introduce cycle routes to Chigwell.  I have no issue with cycle routes as I am a keen cyclist. However, cycle routes are already on the Infrastructure Local Plan within the District Council's Local Plan, with a little bit of patience we will get these anyway without losing our free yellow bus resource in Chigwell. 

Moreover, our Parish council will be forced to handover their two yellow minibuses to a private contractor, albeit a charity simply because the bus no longer meets the vision of new councillors. Many seem hellbent on filtering our parish section 106 money agreements towards social housing projects to meet district targets.  

Councillors that sit on both the Parish Council and the local district council, are more in favour for the district priorities, a decision that may be influenced by the wages received for the more senior political role.

We as a community must challenge our local councillors to stay true to the vision of the original yellow bus service facility.  

Please write to your local Parish Councillor and insist that they continue to challenge for the earmarked £800,000 that will otherwise be handed to Epping Forest District Council, whose local plans favour Epping at the potential cost of further burdened infrastructure locally. You can find their emails (here)

Please also sign and share our petition (click here)

Finally, please also email ian.ansell@eppingforestdc.gov.uk and call for him to expedite the planning approval for Chigwell Primary Academy (EPF/1681/19).