NEWS

Felsted Parish Council has recently set up a Facebook Page to share news, updates and information. To visit the page please click here: https://www.facebook.com/felstedpc/

Please consider liking and following the page to stay connected to the Parish Council.

The Parish Council are aware of an invitation circulating from “Springfields Planning and Development” for a “Community Consultation” event at the Memorial Hall on April 23rd to seek comments from the community on a proposed development for 70 dwellings on land north of Garnetts Lane and Chestnut Walk. The Parish is also “informally” aware of an additional potential application for an unknown number of dwellings on land off Rayne Road that may well come forward shortly.

The site that is the subject of the “Community Consultation – Land north of Garnetts Lane and Chestnut Walk” will be supported in the Felsted Neighbourhood Plan Review and included in the soon to be submitted “Regulation 14” submission of the “updated” Felsted Neighbourhood Plan. This site was included in the Felsted Neighbourhood Plan Review drop-in sessions held in March 2024 when, as one of 12 sites taken forward, it received a high preference rating from residents attending the drop-in sessions with 73% voting in favour and voting 27% against.

The consultation being undertaken on April 23rd by “Springfields Planning and Development” is their own independent consultation in order to gauge public opinion and to enable them to collect Parishioners comments.

Background on current housing commitments for Felsted

As we have covered in previous publications, including the Focus Magazine, the matter of additional housing for Felsted, which we fully understand is not wanted, is not something that the Parish can ignore or brush aside. The pressure on all communities is enormous and with Uttlesford District Council (UDC) not currently having an “up to date” Local Plan and in addition, being unable to demonstrate the required 5 year housing land supply, there is a significant risk of opportunistic and speculative planning applications coming forward.

Housing numbers for Felsted

The Uttlesford emerging Local Plan, which is currently submitted under “Regulation 19” and is due for review by the appointed Planning Inspectors (with a number of hearing sessions due to be held, from 10 June to 19 June) originally allocated 320 additional dwellings to Felsted. Since that original allocation was made by UDC there were 216 dwellings approved (some of which are now built) which UDC then took into account and they reduced Felsted’s allocation in their Regulation 19 submission to 104. With a further 23 having since received approval this reduces Felsted’s outstanding obligation to 81.

As you can see from the above, Felsted has a firm allocation in the UDC emerging Local Plan. These additional homes need to be delivered by 2041 and the Felsted Neighbourhood Plan will support the delivery of the outstanding allocation of 81 dwellings.

The next meeting of the Stebbing Local History Society is on Monday the 14th April, starting at 8 p.m. This will be held at Stebbing Village Hall in Mill Lane.

They are delighted to welcome Alan Crouchman as speaker. He will be delivering two short talks entitled “Flak Bait – A miraculous survival” and “The impact of the Americans – family stories”. Both talks relate directly to the wartime airfield Andrewsfield much of which was in the neighbouring parish of Stebbing.

Stebbing Local History Society would be delighted to welcome any Felsted residents interested in WW2 locally.

No need to book just turn up and pay £2 on the door.

This spring, Love Essex are challenging Uttlesford residents to reduce their general rubbish to one bag a week. This challenge is for those whose general rubbish is collected on a Tuesday.

To help you reduce your waste, you will have received a handy guide. This guide includes tips on how to prevent waste, reuse items, and recycle correctly. You’ll also see a sticker on your grey-lidded general rubbish bin to remind you about what should be recycled.

Are you up for the challenge? Click this link to take part: Take the One Bag a Week Challenge – Uttlesford District Council

Join the Farleigh Hospice Walk for Life on Sunday, 11th May 2025.

Choose your challenge: a 12km ramble from Paper Mill Lock or a 24km trek from Heybridge Basin. Walk along the scenic Chelmer & Blackwater towpaths and support an incredible cause. Walk solo, with friends, or family – every step makes a difference.

Sign up here: https://www.farleighhospice.org/events/walk-for-life-2025

Following the government’s pledge to “Deliver Clean Power by 2030 – paving the way to decarbonising the wider economy by 2050”, Felsted Parish Council has been informed that a large solar farm development covering circa 650 acres is being proposed for land located between Watch House Green and Rayne.

The solar development, named “Hedgehog Grove Solar Farm” is a project of TotalEnergies, a global integrated energy company.

Details of the proposal can be found at: https://www.hedgehoggrovesolarfarm.co.uk/

You may remember that two separate solar farms were proposed within Felsted Parish in autumn 2022 (then referred to as Poplars Farm and Drapers Farm) and there were two public consultation events held by the developers. Neither came to a formal planning application stage and both were subsequently withdrawn.

However, the Parish Council is now advised that these two sites are being merged into one large site which will be brought forward as a Nationally Significant Infrastructure Project (known as an NSIP). In addition, it is proposed that the NSIP will to be progressed under a Development Consent Order (DCO).

NSIP’s, are large scale national infrastructure projects which are treated separately from any normal local authority planning process because of their size and importance and a DCO is a formal Order granting development consent for a proposed NSIP.

An NSIP submitted with a DCO is a statutory instrument determined by the Secretary of State.

If approved by the Secretary of State, the DCO is the most significant outcome of the NSIP procedure because in bypassing the normal planning application process, the DCO:

• Grants the development consent and some other required permissions for the approved project;
• Grants the power to compulsorily acquire land and rights, if so required;
• Defines the works which have been approved; and
• Sets out the requirements (conditions attached to the DCO) which will control the construction, commissioning, operation and, if appropriate, the decommissioning of the approved works.

By their very nature NSIP’s and DCO’s remove the normal opportunity for either the District Council or Parish Council to submit an objection.

The submission process is managed by the Planning Inspectorate, the government agency responsible for examining applications of this size and scale in England and Wales.

The “Hedgehog Grove Solar Farm” developer is stating that before submitting their DCO application, under the requirements of the Planning Act 2008 they will consult on their project. This will include engaging with local authorities, statutory bodies such as Natural England, the Environment Agency and the local community.

Felsted Parish Council has never had to deal with either an NSIP or a Development Consent Order but government guidance clarifies that a DCO “removes the need to obtain additional authorisation”, i.e. if an NSIP and DCO are allowed, they no longer need to obtain any form of conventional planning permission.

The developer is promoting the creation of a Community Liaison Group which Felsted Parish Council and Uttlesford District Council representatives have been invited to join.

Whilst normal planning procedures are not engaged, we must prepare for the possibility that the development is given the go-ahead by the Secretary of State and therefore Felsted Parish Council and our Uttlesford District Councillors (John Evans and Richard Silcock) have agreed to participate in the Community Liaison Group meetings. We will jointly pursue all opportunities to minimise disruption during development and operation, the environmental impact and appraise all prospects for community benefit (there will be a community benefit fund associated with the proposal which will support social and environmental causes, including: Climate and Environmental Improvements, Youth Inclusion and Education, Road Safety, Cultural Dialogue and Heritage).

The Parish Council pointed out to “TotalEnergies” that their proposed NSIP would be additional to an already approved but as yet undeveloped, solar farm at Willows Green (with an output of 49,9MW and covering an area of 281 acres) which is also scheduled for connection to the UKPN network at the Braintree 132kV substation. They agreed to liaise with the applicant – Clearstone Energy.

The “Hedgehog Grove Solar Farm” website – https://www.hedgehoggrovesolarfarm.co.uk/ –  includes a comprehensive FAQ’s section and also includes the option to “sign up” for notification of future updates.

The Parish Council will update the Parish Council Website as the process progresses.

PCSO Natalie Smith will be hosting beat surgeries during February / March as follows:

Friday 28th February 6pm-7pm Royal British Legion
Thursday 6th March 11am-12pm Wood Cottage Tea Rooms
Friday 7th March 6pm-7pm Royal British Legion

These drop in sessions are an opportunity for residents to:
• speak with the local community policing team about any concerns that they may have;
• obtain crime prevention advice;
• stop by for a chat.

Please feel free to stop by, everyone is welcome, no appointment is necessary.

UDC have advised that due to staff illness there are some delays to this week’s Garden Waste collections

The bins will now be collected on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday this week.

Please continue to leave your bins outside by 7am.

Felsted Parish Council will continue funding weekly Green Waste collections in 2025.

The collections will take place on Bannister Green from 8.30-9.30 am every SUNDAY morning between 2 March and 30 November 2025 (inclusive).