You may this week have received a flyer regarding an ‘alternative option’ (“Option D”) for the EFDC Issues and Options consultation on possible development sites in Theydon Bois parish. It has been designed to give the impression that it has been prepared by Epping Forest District Council but we can confirm that this is not the case. Neither has it been circulated by our Parish Council, The Rural Preservation Society or Theydon Bois Action Group. We therefore conclude that it might have been circulated by the landowner(s).

Theydon Bois Action Group make no comment on the contents of the flyer, other than to state that our objective is, as ever, to protect all Metropolitan Green Belt within the Parish of Theydon Bois from inappropriate development.

As our national planning system undergoes radical amendment, we must all be careful to make sure we understand the implications of any actions we take.

Villagers may be interested to read the following:

Extract from Report to Local Plan Cabinet Committee (LPCC) – 26 November 2012, Item 6, paragraph 3

The number of representations received was 5625 of which 114 were statutory bodies, 264 landowners, 3158 residents, 2089 group responses. The representations are currently being processed and a decision was made to outsource this piece of work in order to ensure that the timetable for meeting the Local Plan continues on track. As the representations are being indexed the Forward Planning team will be working to analyse the results. The information from the I&Os consultation will be used to inform a series of Member workshops in the new year aimed at EFDC and Town & Parish Members. The programme of workshops is intending to draw out the key themes and preferred options for the district over the new plan period. The output from the workshops will be used to inform the preferred options report for the LPCC and Cabinet in early 2013 that will lead to the preparation of the draft preferred options document for consideration by LPCC. It is currently anticipated that the Preferred Options consultation will take place in the Autumn of 2013.

The full agenda is available here.

It is important that our supporters continue to lobby their District Councillors to make their feelings known about the options likely to impact our village on the three sites under consultation. It is important that our District Councillors know villagers’ stance so they may convey this to Epping Forest District Council on our behalf. This is especially important in the light of the recent Coppice Farm shock decision (Planning East Subcommittee recommendation to the District Development Control Committee to grant planning permission to develop virgin green belt land in Theydon Bois see website for more information) when our District Councillors abstained from voting against the application despite it being contrary to various planning policies both local and national. This was also surprising since TBAG have the unequivocal support of Eleanor Laing MP to protect our green belt (see website for a copy of her letter). Speak or write to your District Councillors to let them know your opinions.

There is a help page for answering the questionnaire on the village web site at http://www.theydon.org.uk/Issues and Options Consultation/Issues and Options Consultation_home.html.

UPDATE: Here is the submission made on behalf of Theydon Bois Action Group.

The Parish Council and Rural Preservation Society submissions are available on the village web site here.