WELCOME TO FELSTED
Located in north-west Essex and with a population of around 3,000, the Parish of Felsted has at its heart the historic village of Felsted, surrounded by Greens and Hamlets, in a beautiful rural setting.
Felsted retains the underlying charm and attraction of a rural parish, with the community and village at its heart. This is what attracts people to the area and what we as the Parish Council see as our historic duty to protect. Preservation of our heritage is balanced with a duty to ensure that the Parish thrives and meets the future needs of our community.
Winner of RCCE Village of the Year 2015
“One of the best places to live in the East of England” – The Sunday Times (2013)
LATEST NEWS
Uttlesford Local Plan Call For Sites initial assessment
Further to our earlier news item explaining the Local Plan call for sites process, Uttlesford District Council has now released their initial assessment of the sites.
The full Local Plan website can be viewed here.
The assessment document for Felsted can be viewed here.
We, the Parish Council, along with other public bodies, have been asked to comment on any areas of factual inaccuracy in the individual assessments.
It needs to be understood that a site being cleared through this assessment is NOT a planning approval to build houses. The assessment means that the site has/has not cleared the initial technical review stage. It is also clear that not all sites offered will ultimately be approved for housing.
This stage also does not consider issues such as congestion or social impact where, for example, 2 or 3 sites close together might all put in a planning application, or the impact on traffic flow through the village centre from a single large development on the edge of the village.
At this stage, UDC are looking for technical errors only, where, for example, a site might be grade 1 farmland rather than its listing as brownfield, or perhaps a stated access to a main road does not exist, or a conclusion does not align with the assessment points.
If you are aware of any factual errors in the assessments, please pass details to the Parish Clerk using the web form. Please include the site reference and brief/precise correction including any evidence.
To give the council time to review and collate responses please ensure that you submit comment before March 20th.
Be assured that your Parish Council remains closely engaged with the Local Plan process and will at all times present opinion and arguments in the overall interest of the Parish. For example, the Planning Application for the Land to the south of Braintree Road, included in the call for sites initial assessment as appropriate for development, has been submitted and the council is objecting.
Village Litter Pick – Reminder
Don’t forget that the village litter pick ‘Clean for the Queen‘, to mark the Queen’s 90th birthday, is on Saturday 9 April.
We will meet at the playing field car park (Jollyboys Lane) at 10am, with the litter pick running from 10am-3pm. All equipment will be provided.
We hope to see you there!
If you cannot make this date then the next one is on Saturday 22 October, put it in your diary now.
Please also think about picking up that piece of litter you see on the side of the road, or on the pavement. We can all do our bit to keep Felsted tidy and stop those less considerate people, who do drop litter, from spoiling our parish.
For more information about the litter pick please contact the clerk, Diane Smith here.
Changes to Felsted bus services
The Public Transport Team at County Hall have achieved their target of making a £1.5 million (18%) saving on the Public Transport budget. This has inevitably had an impact on our local bus services.
Service 133 – service will be reduced to two hourly on Sundays instead of hourly. No details yet of specific timings.
Service 314 – will be withdrawn, with final journey on 9th April. Each passenger was costing around £19, which is judged unsustainable. Unfortunately, the Demand Responsive Transport, which is being introduced in some areas to compensate, will not cover Felsted. We have asked for this to be reconsidered in future.
Service 16 – continues unchanged, having achieved a cost per passenger of just over the maximum of £5 per journey. Although the new contract to run this service is for 4 years, it is clear that the adage “use it or lose it” applies. There will also be a change of operator from Hedingham to Stephensons.
Updated timetables will be posted at bus stops by 10th April, with revised 133 timings starting on 17th April.
Whilst these changes are disappointing, please do remember that Uttlesford Community Transport is available as an alternative to the bus, albeit at a cost, but still cheaper than a taxi.
One other bus service to remember is the service between the Chelmer Valley Park and Ride and Broomfield Hospital. This is currently a one year trial, so again it needs to be used sufficiently to ensure it is retained. It runs every half hour and costs £3 per day return, free to bus pass holders after 9am.