EPPING FOREST: New homes target 'threatens green belt'

9:58am Tuesday 1st July 2008

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A SEARCH for sites for thousands of new homes should not lead to erosion of the green belt or cramped flat developments, a senior councillor has warned.

Epping Forest District Council is appealing for landowners to put forward potential sites for developments over the next 15 years which will be aimed at meeting housing and employment targets, and the need for more traveller sites.

Sites will be judged against their potential social, economic and environmental impact - including flood risks or heritage importance - before being put out for public consultation.

The appeal is part of the council's formulation of its new Local Development Framework, which will outline the planning strategy for the district over the next 20 years.

It is also driven by the need to provide additional travellers sites and create thousands of new jobs and homes in the district by 2021, as part of the Government's East of England Plan, published in May.

Liberal Democrat group leader Jon Whitehouse welcomed the process, but called for strict guidelines.

He said: "Obviously the need for new homes is the driving force here and we recognise that need.

"But it's important this should not become a free-for-all for development, and the danger is that the pressure for new houses will damage the areas which make the district such a special place to live in the first place, such as our forest.

"What we don't want to see is inappropriate blocks of flats crammed into back gardens, and the council needs to put together very strict criteria as to where development is appropriate.

"It's crucial to make sure the necessary infrastructure is in place too, or developments will be turned down as we have just seen with homes plan on the St Margaret's Hospital site in Epping."

Planning and economic development portfolio holder Anne Grigg said the council was looking for landowners thinking about redeveloping a residential or brownfield site.

But she added it was "not an invitation to concrete over large swathes of green belt".

Landowners, developers, agents, residents, and parish and town councils who have submitted a local planning application in recent years are urged to complete a land availability form and return it to the district council by Friday, July 18.

l For further information, or to download the forms, visit www.eppingforestdc.gov.uk.