NEWS

There are 2 important consultations and presentation events over the coming days.

Local Plan

There are plans to build a new town just north of Felsted. Read the full news item here.

There is a consultation running now, with presentations being held to explain the plans. The closest events to Felsted are:

Monday 27th November 16.00-20.00: Old Friend’s Meeting House, Rosemary Lane, Stebbing, CM6 3RR.

Wednesday 6th December 16.00-20.00: Braintree Town Hall, Market Square, Braintree, CM7 3YG

Tuesday 12th December 10.00-14.00: Rayne Village Hall, 3 Gore Road, Rayne, CM77 6TX

Stansted expansion

Stansted airport is planning to double passenger numbers. Read our full news item here.

The airport is holding a final event to explain its plans and take local feedback:

Friday 1 December 2017 16:00 – 20:00: Talberd Room, Foakes Hall, Stortford Road, Great Dunmow, CM6 1DG

It is important for residents to have their say about these plans. Please don’t leave it to someone else or just assume nothing will change. You can read more about Felsted Parish Council’s concerns and reasons for opposition with the original news items, linked above.

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You can receive email alerts to new news items by adding your email address to the box on the left of the news page here.

Following on from the scoping document issued by Stansted airport and detailed here, the airport is now holding 3 events to explain their expansion plans.

The airport has announced that it now plans to increase passenger numbers to 43 million, rather than 44.5 million, which means that it can achieve its expansion plans within currently approved flight and environmental planning limits and so seek a more local level of approval.

In statements, the airport is claiming to have responded to concerns raised in response to its scoping document.

Brian Ross, deputy chairman of Stop Stansted Expansion (SSE) commented as follows: “The airport claims it has listened to the local community but it has done no such thing. Its new proposal is just a cynical ploy to try to reduce the level of objection to its planning application and allow the application to be dealt with locally rather than nationally. This is not a retreat from its original plans. All the airport has done is to remove the 44.5mppa projection for 2029 and only project to 2028, which is 43mppa. If the airport genuinely wanted to give the local community long term certainty, it would give us all an assurance that 43mppa would be the limit of its expansion ambitions for Stansted.”

Stansted airport has also completely ignored the fact that, in 2017, noise complaints have increased by 20 times when compared to those recorded in 2015. This increase in complaints is due to the changes in flight path usage introduced in 2016, which moved flights onto Clacton routes over Felsted Parish. We are still awaiting the results from a CAA review, which was due in May of 2017.

Stansted airport has made no proposals to mitigate the problems caused by these flightpath changes, despite receiving submissions from Parishes calling for the reversal of the changes and asking for the spread of flights across the Noise Preferrential Routes (NPRs), rather than focussing them down on the unlucky.

There are however, some signs that the CAA are taking some notice of the massive increase in noise complaints, so it remains important that we continue to complain about noisy planes using the SSE form here.

Stansted must work with Parishes to reduce the impact of the flightpath changes, before planning for further expansion.

We must make our voices heard at these events.

Event dates

Tuesday 21 November 2017
4pm until 8pm

Radisson Blu Hotel, Waltham Close, Stansted Airport, CM24 1PP
Free parking for this session is available at the hotel, on registering at the event.

Thursday 23 November 2017
4pm until 8pm

St Michael’s Church, 1 Windhill, Bishop’s Stortford, CM23 2ND

Friday 1 December 2017
4pm until 8pm

Talberd Room, Foakes Hall, Stortford Road, Great Dunmow, CM6 1DG

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Within the Local Plan processes there are proposals for three new garden communities across North Essex, one of which is known as West of Braintree and potentially straddles the Braintree and Uttlesford district borders, just north of Felsted.

Felsted Parish Council has consistently objected to the principle of this new town. We are concerned about the impact from traffic passing through our Parish from the eventual 50,000+ residents living in the potential 13,000 new homes. We are also highly concerned about the impact on resources and facilities in the area. Water is already at a critically low pressure and our doctors are full.

We also believe that this new consultation is premature, since it is being held before the Local Plans outlining proposals for the new town have been approved.

The ‘Issues and Options Consultation’ starts on Monday 13^th November 2017 and runs until Monday 8^th January 2018.  If you would like to find out more about the proposals for the West of Braintree Garden Community, exhibition events have been organised as follows:

• Exhibitions to support the consultation are being held at the following locations:
  

  Location	Time and Date
  Great Tey Village Hall, Chappel Road, Great Tey, CO6 1JQ	Tuesday 21st November 16.00-20.00
  Colchester Market, High Street, Colchester, CO1 1PJ	Friday 24th November 10.00-14.00
  The Salings Millennium Village Hall, Piccotts Lane, Great Saling, CM7 5DW	Saturday 25th November 10.00-14.00
  Old Friend’s Meeting House, Rosemary Lane, Stebbing, CM6 3RR	Monday 27th November 16.00-20.00
  Coggeshall Village Hall, Stoneham Street, Coggeshall, CO6 1UH	Thursday 30th November 15.00-19.00
  Greenstead Community Centre, Hawthorn Avenue, Colchester, CO4 3QE	Saturday 2nd December 10.00-14.00
  Feering Community Centre, Coggeshall Road, Feering, CO5 9QB	Tuesday 5th December 16.00-20.00
  Braintree Town Hall, Market Square, Braintree, CM7 3YG	Wednesday 6th December 16.00-20.00
  Easthorpe Church Hall, Easthorpe Road, Colchester, CO5 9HD	Thursday 7th December 16.00-20.00
  Rayne Village Hall, 3 Gore Road, Rayne, CM77 6TX	Tuesday 12th December 10.00-14.00
  Market Field School, School Road, Elmstead Market, CO7 7ET	Thursday 14th December 16.00-20.00

   

Comments on the proposals can be made using forms available at the events, or online here.

It does feel like these consultations are never-ending. However, it is important that we do not give up and let these consultations and proposals pass us by, even if we just repeat concerns already submitted, as we have little confidence that concerns submitted as part of previous consultations will be taken forward and considered.

The impact on Felsted from this new town will be massive and we must all make our opinions known.

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John Drury has written a new book ‘Felsted snippets, the best bits of Felsted’s history’ .

It is a wonderful addition to John’s series of books looking at the history of Felsted and would make a great stocking filler for Christmas.

It is available for just £5 plus postage, direct from John on 01371 820444, or email moc.tenretnitbobfsctd-19cb71@444dej .

John’s previous book ‘Bygone Felsted’ is also still available for £8 plus £2 p&p, with a discount if you buy both books.

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We are holding our next little pick this Saturday 21st October. 

If you this can come along and spend a little time helping keep our Parish clean, then meet in the Playing Field Car Park (off Jollyboys Lane North – CM6 3DU) anytime between 10am and 2pm.

You can choose which area you ‘pick’ and high viz vests will be provided, along with grabbers and refuse bags.

Any queries please ring Diane Smith (Clerk) on  01371 823071.

We had a record number of volunteers come along to the last litter pick, on 1 April.

Between them they collected 34 bags of rubbish (plus assorted larger items) and covered all the main areas of the village, including Station Road and Braintree Road, where the problem was at its worst. There were also additional groups who couldn’t make the day but headed out independently to clean up their area of the Parish.

Dog owners – Please use dog poo bags and dispose of them in the bins provided

In the last few months the PC has provided additional dog waste bins on Footpath 7 (past Whippersnappers Nursery near the Flitch Way), Footpath 55 (north east of Bury Farm) and at the Ravens Crescent Play Area. Dog walkers not picking up their pets poo is becoming an increasing problem in Felsted, as is the practise of leaving full dog poo bags hanging in hedgerows or on the ground. There is an extensive network of over 15 dog waste bins around the village and the PC would ask all dog owners to be considerate and ‘Pick up’ after their pets and dispose of the bags  responsibly.

The Parish Council has installed 2 new Automatic external defibrillators in the Parish.

They are located outside the surgery and the primary School.

There is also a defribrillator in the village shop, which is available during normal opening hours.

Our thanks to the generous donations towards the purchase made by the Prep School, FVEC and UDC (through our local County Councillor Marie Felton).

The new defribrillators are on the outside of the buildings and so are available for use 24 hours a day.

If you suspect someone is suffering from a heart attack then always call 999 first. You can then give first aid through compressions to the beat of ‘Staying Alive’ by the Bee Gees.

Tell someone to go to the defribrillator, where they will call 999 and the operator will give the person the code to open the box.

The defribillators are designed for use by someone who has NOT received any training.

There are very simple instructions (given verbally, you don’t have to read instructions) to attach the pads to the patient and then the defribillator does its own test to decide whether or not to shock the patient. If a shock is not needed then the defribillator will not deliver it.

If you suspect someone has suffered a heart attack then, as the British Heart Foundation says, the worst thing you could do is nothing:

How to do Hands-only CPR

When somebody collapses in front of you, what do you do?

1. Check the person over. If they are not responsive and not breathing, then their heart has stopped working and they are having a cardiac arrest.
2. Now, call 999. Then you do Hands-only CPR.
3. Lock your fingers together, knuckles up. Then push down, right between the nipples. Push down five or six centimetres. That’s about two inches. Push hard and fast about two times a second, like to the beat of Stayin’ Alive. Don’t worry about hurting someone. A cracked rib can be mended – just concentrate on saving a life.
4. Keep this up until the ambulance arrives.
5. If someone else is available, then get them to collect the closest defribillator. Switch it on and follow the verbal instructions.

So don’t forget. Check them over. Call 999. Push hard and fast to Stayin’ Alive. It works.

Hands-only CPR. It’s not as hard as it looks.

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Further to our original news item below, published in July, this is just a reminder that the closing date for comment to the Uttlesford Local Plan is 4th September.

Original News item

Uttlesford District Council has now launched its consultation to seek feedback on the Draft Local Plan.

The Plan identifies a New Town of 10,000 houses to be built, with Braintree District Council, to the north of Felsted, alongside Stebbing. Remembering also the plans by Chelmsford Council to build 1,000 houses in Gt Leighs, with 750 of these adjoining Willows Green.

 It is vitally important that you have your say about this if we are to avoid Felsted being swamped with traffic and our services exhausted by the demands of new residents looking for doctors and school places, whilst waiting for the eventual building of services in any New Town.

The announcement from Uttlesford District Council, with the drop in sessions, is repeated below:

Councillors approved the draft plan for public consultation at a meeting of Full Council on 11 July.

The consultation seeks views on the proposed site allocations and the associated policies which will guide future development within the district up to 2033.

The quickest and easiest way to read the draft local plan and to provide feedback is via the website www.uttlesford.gov.uk/draftplan2017.

The deadline for responses is 5pm on Monday 4 September.

Drop-in exhibitions

A number of drop-in exhibitions have been organised so that residents and businesses can find out more about the proposals within the Uttlesford Draft Local Plan.

These exhibitions will he held on:

• Monday 17 July, 5-8.30pm – Chesterfords Community Centre, Newmarket Road, Great Chesterford CB10 1NU
• Monday 24 July, 5-8.30pm – Stebbing Village Hall, Mill Lane, Stebbing CM6 3SL
• Wednesday 26 July, 5-8.30pm – Memorial Hall, Manor Road, Little Easton CM6 2JR

These exhibitions are open to all, and have been tailored to specifically give more information about the individual proposed garden communities.

The purpose of the exhibitions is to provide members of the public with information about the proposals so that they can make informed comments on the draft plan during the consultation.

Anticipated Local Plan timetable

12 July – 4 September 2017

• Public consultation on the draft local plan

Winter 2017/2018

• Consideration of consultation feedback and revisions to the plan as appropriate
• Putting together the final version of the Draft Local Plan including modifications

Winter 2017/2018

• Public consultation on the final version of the Draft Local Plan

Spring 2018

• Submission of Local Plan to the Planning Inspectorate for consideration

Summer 2018

• Start of hearing sessions for the public examination

Winter 2018/2019

• Receipt of Planning Inspector’s Report

Spring 2019

• Adoption of Local Plan by Full Council

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The Parish Council is going to pull together an archive of memories, to preserve them for posterity.

This archive will contain video, audio, written and photographic items from in and around the Parish.

Whilst there are of course some members of our community with known archives, we would like to gather together all those simple pictures and stories you may have hidden away.

If you have any old footage, pictures etc then please do not send them in, as we recognise that these items will likely have a lot of personal sentimental value and so want to keep them secure. What we would like you to do is to simply let the Clerk know what you have, so that we can build up a list and begin to work out how we should bring them together and copy them as appropriate.

The Felsted Neighbourhood Plan (NP) group are continuing to develop a robust Neighbourhood Plan for our Parish. The amount work they have undertaken should not be underestimated and they deserve our thanks and appreciation for stepping up to lead this essential task.

Critical to the success of the process is community involvement. The Parish Council urges all residents to take a little time to learn and read about the Plan and to provide feedback to the Group.

On 7 and 8 July the NP Group held 2 well attended Consultation Events at Felsted Primary School. Many thanks to the 160+ residents who were able to attend and provide feedback on all the policies within the Plan draft document.

If you were unable to attend, it’s not too late to find out what is being proposed and give us your feedback by visiting the NP website at www.felstednp.org.uk.

You can view all the documents presented at the Consultations (including a Summary if time is limited!) and watch a video of Roy Ramm, Chairman, explaining the background to the idea of a Community Hub.

The NP is an important document which will influence how Felsted looks and the services that are available in the village for the next 20 years. Please take the time to visit the website and then complete the short online smart survey (which only takes a few minutes) to let the NP Group have your thoughts and feedback.

Thank you

Diane Smith

Felsted NP Group

There are 2 important consultations closing today.

Stansted expansion plans

Read our full news item here.

It is important to have your say if you object to Stansted airport doubling the number of passengers it currently carries.

The process is simple, all you need do is follow the link from the above news item to the Uttlesford planning site and make your objection known.

We are trying to make sure that the impact on communities is recognised and that we are fully consulted in processes to minimise noise disruption, through careful management of flight paths. This level of engagement simply does not happen at present.

Braintree Local Plan

As we have reported on a number of occasions, the Braintree Local Plan includes a shared plan with Uttlesford District Council to build a new town of 10,000 houses to the north of Felsted.

The impact on roads through our Parish and on our services (school places, doctors, water supplies), will be immense.

The Parish council has made this submission, supporting the objections made by the combined Parishes in the area.

You can still have your say. The consultation portal is here. whilst the form itself is complicated you do not need to go into the full detail if you do not wish to. You can simply email to ku.vog.eertniarbobfsctd-34a2b8@nalplacol, use the heading ‘Local Plan Consultation’ and then provide your comment in the email text.