NEWS

Green Waste Collections will continue in 2026.

The collections will take place on Bannister Green from 8.30-9.30 am every SUNDAY morning between

1st March and 29th November 2026 (inclusive).

Please be aware that this service is funded by the Parish Council

As detailed in this advisory leaflet distributed with the Spring 2026 Felsted Focus magazine, the Felsted Neighbourhood Plan Review Consultation under the required “Regulation 14” will formally commence on Monday 9th February and will run for 7 weeks until Monday 23rd March.

Full details about the Neighbourhood Plan Review can be found here and the supporting documents can be found here.

Any comments can be submitted via the Parish Council email address: ku.vog.cp-detslefobfsctd-290935@krelc  or by completing this website contact form.

A “drop in” session will take place from 9.30am – 1pm on Saturday 21st February at the URC Hall in Stebbing Road where members of the Felsted Neighbourhood Plan Review Group will be available to answer any queries.

Information about the Neighbourhood Plan Review: https://felsted-pc.gov.uk/felsted-neighbourhood-plan/

Read the supporting documents: https://felsted-pc.gov.uk/felsted-neighbourhood-plan/updates/

The Parish Council have been made aware that a company has been sending out payment requests for renewal of “Business Directory” advertising. The emails say that they are from “Felsted Parish” and come from the email address ku.oc.hsirapobfsctd-627404@troppus-ecivres. Please be aware that they are nothing to do with Felsted Parish Council or the Felsted Focus.

The company has concerning reviews on Trustpilot. The reviews can be read using the link: https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/parish.uk

The emails also state that their bank details had changed. If you receive any requests for payment to new bank details from any source please always check directly by phone using a number from the organisations official website to ensure that it is not a scam.

On the evening of 16 January 2026, UDC received the Planning Inspectors’ Final Report on the Examination of the Uttlesford Local Plan 2021-2041. The Inspectors’ Report concludes that, with their recommended main modifications, the Uttlesford Local Plan 2021-2041 is sound, legally compliant, and capable of adoption.

A copy of The Report and final Main Modifications has now been published and is to be found here:

https://www.uttlesford.gov.uk/article/10082/Inspectors-report-and-adoption

The full site and documentation remains accessible at:

The new Local Plan – Uttlesford District Council

The conclusions of the Inspectors’ Report means that the UDC Local Plan 2021-2041 can go forward with a recommendation to adopt the Plan.

A meeting of UDC’s full Council will be arranged later this spring for this purpose.

General Waste / Recycling

There will be some changes to your waste and recycling bin collections over Christmas and New Year.  Please click here for the alternative collection days.

Real Christmas Trees

UDC’s Green Waste Skip will be at Bannister Green on Saturday 10 January 26 between 11:30am and 12:30pm. This is for the recycling of your real Christmas trees and other green waste.

A consultation on LGR is now live until 11 January 26

The consultation can be found on the gov.uk website here: Consultation on proposals for Local Government Reorganisation in Essex, Southend-on-Sea and Thurrock

You can read the full proposal and other options on the LGR Essex Hub: A stronger Greater Essex | Essex Local Government Reorganisation Hub

Residents are encouraged to respond to the consultation.

Please be reminded that Woodleys Car Park is not for domestic use.

Please do not park vehicles there unless you are patronising one of the businesses in the vicinity.

Thank you for your co-operation.

The Parish Council erected the Christmas Tree yesterday, the Grand Switch On with Father Christmas being in attendance will take place, starting at 5pm this coming Sunday 7th December.

Felsted School Steel Band and Felsted Choral Society will be entertaining alongside a snow globe. Light refreshments will be available and the Legion will be serving mulled wine. The switching on of the tree lights will be just before 6pm.

Father Christmas will be touring the village on the evenings of the 16th and 17th December starting each evening at 6.30pm.

Tuesday 16th, starting in Station Road, then onto Chelmsford Road, heading to Bannister Green via Cobblers Green and Cock Green including Stevens finishing with Ravens Crescent.

Wednesday 17th, staring on the Braintree Road side of Ravens Crescent, onto Watch House Green with the next stop being Stebbing Road and Chaffix then turning right onto Braintree Road finishing at Jollyboys North.

Sweets will be available for Children of all ages, a collection is being made to cover the cost of the Christmas Tree with any additional collections be made to local causes, we hope the parishioners of Felsted will support the Parish Council in this years festivities.

This year represents the 80th anniversary of VE and VJ Day and the 85th anniversary of The Battle of Britain. The usual wreath laying ceremony will take place on 9th November and for anyone who would like to attend the timings are as follows:

• 9.45 am Assemble outside the Memorial Hall
• 10.15 am The Service Commences
• 10.50 am Service continues at the Village Church.

The previously proposed 650-acre Solar Farm that was being pursued as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (NSIP) meaning that the final decision on whether permission for development should be approved would have been made by the Secretary of State on behalf of the Government has been withdrawn.

Opportunities to object to NSIP’s are limited and therefore Felsted Parish Council had been representing the Parish in Community Liaison Group Meetings with TotalEnergies in order to lever any potential future gain for the community.

However, the applicant (TotalEnergies) has recently withdrawn their NSIP but has advised that the application will continue to come forward but now it will be via the Town and County Planning Act (TCPA) which means that it will be submitted as a normal Planning Application through Uttlesford District Council (UDC) and as it is no longer an NSIP, Felsted Parish Council are likely to object.

This also means that all Felsted residents will be able to comment to UDC on the application once it is formally submitted.  No doubt some residents will choose to support the application, and some will object.

In advance of submitting their planning application to UDC TotalEnergies have recently circulated a brochure to Felsted households and were / are holding two “Consultation Events” (on Monday 22nd and Tuesday 23rd September) with residents invited to submit comments to them regarding the proposal, via either:

Freepost      Hedgehog Grove Solar Farm (no postage required)             Freephone      0800 0465879

Website        www.solar.totalenergies.co.uk/hedgehoggrove

Email            ku.oc.mrafralosevorggohegdehobfsctd-5215b0@kcabdeef

Felsted residents will have their own views on Solar Farms and all residents are encouraged to submit their comments to this significant proposal, whether in support or as an objection.

Felsted Parish Council are likely to object because we have already supported TWO solar farms within Felsted Parish, one covering 38 acres which has been fully operational since 2014 and the other covering 282 acres, which received full planning approval from UDC in 2023 but is yet to be constructed.  Both are located near Willows Green.   (See map below)

Clearly, having previously supported two solar farms, in total covering around 320 acres, Felsted Parish’s likely future objection cannot in any way be claimed to be a “NIMBY” (i.e. “Not In My Back Yard”) response.  Our concern is the scale of the proposal and the cumulative impact of the existing approved 320 acres plus the proposed additional 650 acres which would bring the total combined area of Felsted under “Solar” to circa 970 acres (equivalent to around 600 football pitches), seriously impacting our rural environment and displacing wildlife etc.  In addition, all of the effected land, according to the Natural England – Agricultural Land Classification map for the Eastern Region (ALC008) would be on land classified as “Grade2” i.e.  “Very Good” BMV (Best and Most Versatile) agricultural land.

We believe that TotalEnergies claim in their distributed brochure, under their “Why Here” comments, where they say they have “carefully assessed” the land to ensure they are not proposing the use of “the highest quality farmland” is a disingenuous statement as there is no “Grade 1” (i.e. classification of “excellent”) BMV farmland anywhere in Uttlesford and very little in Essex as a whole, therefore the use of almost 1,000 acres of what is classified as BMV  Grade 2 “i.e. Very Good” land is considered unacceptable and unsustainable.

TotalEnergies do not anticipate submitting their formal planning application before January 2026 (this is because the Government’s intention to change the output capacity threshold for NSIP’s, which is a factor in TotalEnergies decision to withdraw their NSIP application), will not come into effect until 31^st December 2025.

Felsted Parish Council will publish details of the formal planning application on the Parish Council website and on the Parish Council Facebook Page once the application has been submitted.   Information will be published on:

Website                                                                 https://felsted-pc.gov.uk/

Parish Council Facebook Page                           https://www.facebook.com/felstedpc/