Foreword

The projected increase in the number of households over the next twenty years is likely to lead to a significant amount of new housing development on both greenfield and brownfield sites in Essex. As this new development will have a considerable impact on both town and country and constitute a sizeable new slice of urban fabric, it is important that we get it right.

Unfortunately, much recent new housing development has concentrated on producing houses as consumer products with little or no attention paid to the quality of the environment that results. The consequence is that residents feel no allegiance to the locality and seek to move on as quickly as possible. Local authorities in Essex wish to see the creation of stable communities based on local services and therefore I welcome the appearance of this Guide which demonstrates how, by employing best practice, it is possible to create new places of quality and identity where people will want to stay.

By setting out criteria, it is hoped to reduce the degree of uncertainty for the developer and ease negotiations with the planning authority. At the same time, by locating development in the right places and laying it out for ease of access by walking, cycling and public transport rather than traffic circulation, it is our intention that new development should underpin the environmental sustainability of the settlement pattern in Essex rather than undermine it.

Peter Croft DipTP MRTPI
Chairman, Essex Planning Officers Association.
October 1997