Letter to the Editor – A response to the Latton Priory outline planning application
News / Tue 8th Oct 2024 at 11:15am
THE Harlow Alliance Party has long campaigned against building on the Green Belt close to the boundary of Harlow, supported by over 900 residents who signed a petition objecting to the proposals to the south and west of the town.
The creation of the Harlow and Gilston Garden Town resulted in five local authorities working together to effectively create a larger Harlow in all but name. However, in one key area they failed to co-operate together, that is in the timing and the way that each council consulted its residents. Harlow Council clearly failed to adequately advise residents of the proposal to develop land around the town and the other councils had no legal obligation to do so.
The present consultation follows in the same manner, the proposals will have far reaching effect on existing residents in the town, but EFDC have again chosen to seek the views of residents in only a small part of Harlow and given them just three weeks to respond. Harlow Council on the other hand has made no attempt to advise residents of the planning application.
Whichever side of the pro build or no build argument a person is on, it’s common sense that once planning permission has been granted the development of and construction within, the Latton Priory site should be planned in a way that would minimise unnecessary impact upon Harlow residents.
Anyone currently trying to navigate Harlow’s roads will know that sitting in queues of traffic is now a daily routine no matter which route you take.
On reading the detail of the Latton Priory outline planning application the more it becomes apparent that once again priority is being given to profit making house construction over the delivery of timely supportive infrastructure.
Latton Priory is planned as an edge of town development with its own through road, Latton Avenue, connecting from London Road B1393 through Latton Priory and onto Rye Hill Road. At the B1393 junction, buses (and presumably emergency vehicles) will be able to turn right or left but all other vehicles will be left turn only taking them up to the Hastingwood interchange / M11 roundabout.
The main public transport connections from Harlow Town to Latton Priory will be via the sustainable transport corridor (STC) to a mobility hub in Latton Priory centre and a bus route on the new Latton Avenue.
But whilst the outline planning application presents a sustainably happy ever after picture the detail just doesn’t match up.
At this outline planning stage there is still much about the construction process that is unknown to us as Harlow residents. There will be a Construction Environmental Management plan submitted once outline planning consent has been granted.
The planning statement in the outline application reads ‘
‘The construction stage of the Proposed Development has an 8-9 year duration. The assumed timetable for construction of the Proposed Development of up to 1,340 dwellings is set out below with the first completions anticipated potentially in 2025/26. The delivery timescale anticipates annual completions increasing to 200 dwellings per annum’.
‘The local centre, primary school, secondary school, the main mobility hub, East-West Avenue (Latton Avenue) between Rye Hill Road and London Road will be provided for by certain population size triggers’
Regarding construction the planning application reads;
‘It is assumed that construction commences from the west of the site, utilising Rye Hill Road for access.’
This first phase of construction is the approx 400 dwellings that are proposed for a new cul de sac area accessed off Rye Hill Road.
Without Latton Avenue being created as an access route into the Latton Priory site the vehicle movements of all construction vehicles, construction supplies, construction workers will either add to the traffic coming through Harlow to Paringdon Road, or use Rye Hill Road directly off the B1393 to get to the Latton Priory site on Rye Hill Road.
The same problems will be repeated in the other building phases of the site unless the construction of an alternative haul road or Latton Avenue itself is given priority and is made the primary access into the Latton Priory site.
The outline planning application is in support and declares no objection to the eventual closing of the narrow southern end of Rye Hill Road but this is a separate statutory process and is not a part of this application.
The planning application notes that any closure could only happen once Latton Avenue is operational.
In effect the commencement of construction on the Latton Priory site will specifically be adding an increased volume and heavier weights of vehicle traffic to the vehicles that already use Rye Hill Road as a cut through, even though its narrow width, 7.5 tonne weight limit and lack of sufficient foundations makes it unsuitable for this.
There is also evidence in the outline planning application that the proposed STC route from Harlow Town to Commonside Rd through to Latton Priory will not be completed until 2030 at the earliest.
The Transport Assessment (TA) report in the Planning application makes several comments;
‘However, as set out in the TA, the STC Southern Route from the Town Centre to Commonside Road, is referred to as a longer term aspiration in the latest updates of the HGGT Infrastructure Delivery Plan.
Furthermore, the Southern STC Connector is not considered to be demonstrably deliverable in the short term. The latest revision of the IDP considers that the Connector “may be delivered by 2030”.
It notes that there is as yet no designed scheme for this section of the STC.
‘Equally there are constraints relating to the delivery of the Connector including the availability of land in third party ownership (including Harlow Council) and the potential impact of the connector alignment on existing uses, not least the allotments south of Commonside Road.’
‘In the absence of certainty in relation to elements of the delivery of the STC Network, an alternative sustainable travel route via an improvement to Rye Hill Road is proposed, as part of the application proposals. This route would provide priority for buses at the junction of Rye Hill Road and Paringdon Road along with dedicated foot and cycle routes and signalised crossing points to link pedestrians and cyclists into the existing Harlow network.’
‘To make a more material difference to bus mode share the Southern STC between the Latton Priory site and the town centre would need to be delivered in its entirety. Yet delivery of the route between Commonside Road and the town centre is a longer-term aspiration.’
The aspirations of the HGGT Transport Strategy – to achieve a mode split of 60% by non-car driver modes in garden communities, and of 50% across the town as a whole by 2033 is going to face challenges without the delivery of the Latton Priory STC mobility hub. And for residents who move into homes built in the early phases of the site development there will be compromised public travel options.
Houses are potentially complete from 2025 / 2026 but any connection to the main artery of the STC is a maybe, might be, but probably not until 2030.
And until Latton Avenue is operational, once again traffic from Latton Priory will be adding into the already congested Rye Hill Road, Paringdon Road and the Harlow roads beyond.
It seems that once again we are seeing the determined priorities of profit from houses before infrastructure.
HGGT have been hearing residents feedback from the very outset of this process and whilst it is encouraging to see that some feedback has been incorporated as the planning process has progressed, it is clear from the detail in this outline planning application that the public outcry asking for infrastructure before housing is not being acted upon.
It should also be noted that;
As of 24/09/24 ‘Essex County Fire and Rescue Service is not satisfied with the proposals as there is insufficient information provided on the plans as no details of layout have been provided.
As of 26/09/2024 National Highways have raised several queries re data submitted to them and ‘recommend that planning permission not be granted for a specified period. It is recommended that the application should not be approved until 29 November 24’
As of 30/09/24 Historic England has lodged concerns regarding the application on heritage grounds.
As of 04/10/24 North Essex Parking Partnership commented ‘Having studied the plans there are a great number of considerations/concerns to raise here.’
The Party’s objections include
In our opinion this outline planning application is premature and should be deferred until it includes the following;
- A comprehensive plan for the STC connection from Harlow Town through to Latton Priory and including the proposed mobility hub.
- A comprehensive plan for constructional access to the Latton Priory site that uses Latton Avenue or an equivalent haul road instead of already overloaded Harlow roads.
- Approval recommendation from Essex County Fire and Rescue
– Approval recommendation from National Highways
– Approval recommendation from Historic England
– Approval recommendation from North Essex Parking
Partnership
Harlow Alliance Party
Brian Aston
2024-10-08 17:41:22
A nice letter, well thought out. One major thing missing from the list of objections. HOSPITAL. How can PAH and the associated healthcare support services cope with thousands of new houses being built, with no thought or consideration for the actual capacity of the hospital? These construction companies are prepared to spend hundreds of thousands building these homes. The contract should state, first you build the hospital, then you can build your houses.
David Forman
2024-10-08 18:43:51
Good letter from HAP. By the time the Labour government has finished making us all poorer, the only people buying the homes will be Arab Sheiks, plus Chinese and Russian oligarchs.
Shell
2024-10-09 13:51:09
Harlow Alliance Party seem to be the only people raising concerns on this monstrous blot on the landscape. It won't benefit Harlow residents, the roads are a nightmare as it is. We should be preserving the green areas that we have, not obliterating them. Paringdon Road has 2 schools that will be negatively impacted by even more by pollution. What does the Green Party for Harlow think about this? not heard a thing so far.
Roger
2024-10-09 16:22:15
A well considered response. My suspicion is that Latton Priory and all the other major sites immediately adjacent to Harlow were already identified by central government in conjunction with developers under the NPPF long before any serious local consultations took place. The various Local Planning Authorities (ie District Councils) were then reminded that they had a "Duty to Co-operate." Unfortunately that does not seem to have resolved practical matters in a way that satisfies residents within the various District Council boundaries. As such the whole process over the last dozen or so years seems to me to farcical. My guess is that once it is all pushed through, largely unchanged, a boundary review will then include all those sites immediately adjacent to Harlow within its new boundaries. Mind you, the necessary infrastructure is still likely to be a distant dream.
Nicholas Taylor
2024-10-09 16:53:47
Those of us living along Southern Way know only to well that in the last couple of decades there has been a huge increase in the number of vehicles travelling along this and others roads nearby. We face the prospect of huge housing developments adjacent to Sumners and Katherines which can only mean one thing, yet more vehicles using roads that were never constructed to take such vehicle numbers. Whilst you would not expect Councillors and residenst of EFDC who might live 20 miles away to care, about this, but you would expect our councillors to do so, but they and Harlow Council are key movers in the creation of the Harlow and Gilston Town. Comments by members of the Conservative and Labour Party are really just crocodile tears.
Em
2024-10-09 17:21:00
I received my notification from ECC exactly one week ago. I have been trying to read up on the plans but it's a long slog. My main concerns are it was stated the area was Grade 2 land. Which meant excellent for growing. Where on an other report it said it was poor arable land - more than once. But apart from all this the plans looks like a lot of cramped up housing in two areas especially. Main concerns are light pollution, noise pollution, surface water and flooding, rubbish pollution. Also pollinators, deer, which roam freely. One of the major problems will be the access on to Parringdon Road and then the next problem getting on to Southern Way. There are three schools along Parrindon Road and when they did the road traffic surveys they were done on the school closure holidays. If we are to build new homes we need to make sure we don't build another cheap concrete jungle. I
Roger
2024-10-09 17:53:07
Nicolas Taylor. I am sure most residents in EFDC and elsewhere share your views. Many live close to Harlow and you only have to look at what North Weald Bassett Parish faces as a rural area to appreciate that. But we are as important as those in Harlow.
Nicholas Taylor
2024-10-09 19:02:23
Roger, I am sure that there are some residents who live in the EFDC area who share our views about this development, but they are probably less in numbers than those living in just one estate in Harlow. Lets not forget that the EFDC district extends from Fyfield to Chigwell. Why are we so concerned, it is because It is us in the main that will be affected by the huge increase in traffic, the loss of the towns green spaces and the clearing of allotments etc etc There are homes on many estates in the town which are just yards away from the proposed development but our councillors will have no control of what is going on. I am not sure which planning committee will deal with this application, but the 8 councillors on committee A include councillors from Grange Hill, 2 from Loughton and 2 from Waltham Abbey. On Committee B, 1 from Buckhurst Hill, 2 from Loughton and 2 from Theydon Bois. Do they even know where Paringdon Road is? Have they stood outside the schools as pupils go back and forth? I doubt it. As for North Weald, well I see that two councillors there are senior ones at the council, you get what you vote for, they will simply take a vote as an endorsement of their policies. Change will only come if people start voting or start voting for someone else.
Mick king gurd sir
2024-10-09 21:55:36
I FAIL TO SEE ANY PROVISION FOR BEDSITS IN THE PLANNING, I SHALL URGENTLY BE SEEKING A WHATSAPP TEXT MESSAGE FROM DAN SWORDS AND THE OTHER BLOKE
TonyB
2024-10-09 22:09:16
It is a brilliant letter, but to me, it is a hard read. Did anyone else notice the Harlow traffic movement compiled for Latton Priory by SLR Consulting Limited. The study of traffic movements is very detailed but sadly corrupted. In 2023, I noticed road use measurements were being taken across Harlow. It was quite noticeable as I always drove my grandchildren from their North Harlow home to their Tendering Road school. I did this from my home near the Stow area of Harlow, so my vehicle would have been counted more than once. What struck me was that the survey started in late July, when many children were already disappearing for holidays, and continued to be monitored until the first week of September 2023. Of course, this meant the “school run” together with families were away on holiday during this period, and only half of the people remained in Harlow. I found myself in a state of confusion, wondering which council had wasted taxpayer's money collecting data that seemed to be of questionable validity. I even questioned someone at the consultation in the Harvey Centre, but as he was representing the Gilston new town. He did not know who or why a council would collect data when the schools were on holiday. Studying the data, compiled in 2023, I now know who was responsible for collecting corrupt data, but I still cannot see what purpose the corrupt data would serve. Already, I’ve noticed traffic opting to use Second Avenue rather than First Avenue to travel Westwards to the town centre and beyond because of the new roadworks for Gilston S.T.C. at the town centre; the Manston Road traffic numbers are entirely corrupted. Traffic flows will change further as more S.T.C.’s are constructed across Harlow, blocking east-west traffic. So, what was the point of conducting this survey at this point before all of the S.T.C.s were built in Harlow? Regardless of any data collected, the traffic volumes include the 3,000 staff members of Princess Alexandra Hospital at their current site location and hospital patients together with family members visiting. If the hospital moves sites, data will be even more corrupted, and the whole exercise will be pointless. Already, I’ve noticed traffic opting to use Second Avenue rather than First Avenue to travel Westwards to the town centre and beyond because of the Gilston STC at the town centre; the Manston Road traffic numbers are completely corrupted.
S Lathwell
2024-10-10 05:56:41
Tony, you are so right. Instead of trying to get traffic out of Harlow, the powers that be seem to be wanting to bring it through Harlow but without having any descent roads to do so. The traffic surveys were definitely falsified by taking it when the three schools that were along Parringdon Road were on holidays. Also remember there is a Mosque on Parringdon Road also with cars parked along the road as is school cars. But in Latton Priory situation of building. We should stop this building of rubbish housing just for the sake of ticking off a box. The architectures and developer's of the future need to realise that your experimental housing projects or c... ups end up by the rest of us having to pay for it. Environmentally, especially. This is an environmental tragedy. Top agricultrial land being concreted on. So this time get it right. See sense, see the problems that will arise and stop us the tax payers having to pay for your mistakes because of financial greed
Leave a Comment Below:
11 Comments for Letter to the Editor – A response to the Latton Priory outline planning application :