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

Result of the Public Consultation 11/12th July 2025

Token Vote

  • Total tokens issued:142 (One per household attending)
  • Water Tower site:60
  • Bloor Homes Site:65
  • No preference expressed:17

Analysis of Comments

In addition to the token count, as shown above, we have very carefully read and considered the 83 comments left over the two days on the ‘Comments’ boards by the 190 (Friday 86 and Saturday 104) individuals who attended. (Where more than one post -it appears to have been used to express a view by the same contributor, the additional note has been counted as a single comment.).

We have given a categorisation code to each comment.

There is a degree of subjectivity in the categorisation of the responses, but we have tried to ensure the code matches the intent of the contributor.

The majority (35 notes) are assessed (GC) as providing general comments about development in and the pressure on infrastructure, urging resistance to any further development but without offering specific comment on the two major sites on display.

Following the event the Parish clerk also received six emails form residents who were unable to attend but asked for their views to be considered.

  • (SBH) Seven (7+2) offered comments clearly in SUPPORT of the Bloor Homes site.
  • (ABH) Nineteen (19+1) offered comments clearly AGAINST the Bloor Homes site.
  • (SWT) Two (2) offered comments clearly in SUPPORT of the Water Tower site.
  • (AWT) Twenty (20 +3) offered comments clearly AGAINST the Water Tower site.

Neither the token vote nor the ‘comments’ at the consultation event have provided an overwhelmingly clear result.

The distribution of the tokens shows greater support for the Bloor Homes site (65) over the Water Tower site (60). The notes on the ‘Comments’ boards and the emails are also evenly balanced, with similar numbers rejecting both sites (20 and 23) and a slightly greater number (7+2) offering specific support for the Bloor Homes site as opposed to (2) offering support for the Water Tower site.

As we have consistently said, this is NOT a simple ‘numbers game’.

In further developing the Review we will also now carefully consider the result of the Strategic Environmental Assessment, (which we are increasingly hopeful will be funded) and will be an important factor in determining how we proceed to producing a DRAFT plan for assessment in accord with Reg 14, when parishioners will have a further opportunity to comment on the plan before it is submitted to a Planning Inspector.

The Inspector will decide whether the plan is compliant with the Neighbourhood Plan Regulations, if further work is required or if we can proceed to a Referendum, when parishioners will finally be able to decide whether to support the plan.

The Review Group

Essex Police Advice

Essex Police have seen cases where fraudsters pretend to be police officers over the phone—to trick people into giving away personal information or money.

A Police Officer will never:

🔹Ask for your bank details or PIN

🔹Ask you to transfer money to another account

🔹Ask you to withdraw money

🔹Ask you to hand over cash or cards to a courier

🔹Demand payment of fines or fees over the phone or online

🔹Request access to your computer or passwords

🔹Say you’re committing a crime for not complying

If you’re unsure whether someone is a genuine officer – STOP – Wait 5 minutes and call 101 or visit Essex Police online to verify their identity

Launch of on-line petition in support of continued funding for Neighbourhood Plans

A petition has been launched seeking the reinstatement/continued support of funding for community-led Neighbourhood Plans, channelled through the organisation, ‘Locality’.
The UK Government has recently announced that it is to cut funding for Neighbourhood Plans with immediate effect.
Funding through “Locality” has previously provided the Felsted Neighbourhood Plan Steering and Review Groups with critical funding, enabling the engagement of professional external support to develop and review our plans and crucially, with technical support on many issues, for example enabling us to undertake independent housing needs assessments, through the Rural Community Councils of Essex.
The loss of this previously available funding will seriously impact the ability of the Felsted Neighbourhood Plan Group to effectively represent Felsted in future planning matters.
We would be extremely grateful if you would consider signing the petition at the link below.
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