How to Respond to the Consultation
First Things First
We are not going to provide stock or copperplate comments for you to simply copy and paste. Sorry!
We will provide information, guidance, advice and suggestions but we feel it is important that you use your own words and that you concentrate on the areas that mean most to you.
As all the responses will be read by the Planning Inspector or his team, the more he receives of different views the more he will need to consider them individually. If they all say the same, he will simply disregard them.
Please use you own thoughts and knowledge of the area when submitting your responses. Local people know best!
We will provide information, guidance, advice and suggestions but we feel it is important that you use your own words and that you concentrate on the areas that mean most to you.
As all the responses will be read by the Planning Inspector or his team, the more he receives of different views the more he will need to consider them individually. If they all say the same, he will simply disregard them.
Please use you own thoughts and knowledge of the area when submitting your responses. Local people know best!
What Are You Being Asked?
You are being asked whether you consider the plan and each of its elements are (1) legally compliant and/or (2) sound. We discuss each of these below.
These are very specific terms as defined by the Regulation 19 process (see HERE).
Please take time to consider this as it is key to how you formulate your responses.
These are very specific terms as defined by the Regulation 19 process (see HERE).
Please take time to consider this as it is key to how you formulate your responses.
Response Methods
The preferred method to respond to the consultation is via the Commonplace online portal. By using the portal all of the correct information is collected to validate your comments.
However it is possible to respond by email. Please see HERE for how.
The details below primarily relate to responding using Commonplace but please read if you plan to use email.
However it is possible to respond by email. Please see HERE for how.
The details below primarily relate to responding using Commonplace but please read if you plan to use email.
Consultation Navigation
Please use this RESPONSE WALK-THROUGH example to better understand how to respond and our comments below.
1. The consultation breaks the full Local Plan document into its constituent parts, called chapters, each with one or more Policies.
2. The response form is called Part A. You use it each time you make a comment. You can access this form from within each chapter.
3. You must attribute your response and comments to a specific chapter or Policy. The online response form prompts for this in questions 2a to 2g.
4. In question 3 the council is asking whether you think those individual chapters, paragraphs and Policies are (1) Legally Compliant and (2) Sound. More on this below.
5. Question 4 asks for your reasons supporting your response to question 3.
6. Question 5 asks you to document any modifications you feel are required to make the plan legally compliant or sound.
7. Question 6 allows you to upload any files or documents.
8. Questions 7 & 8 relate to whether wish to take part in the examination hearings.
9. You will then be asked to enter your email address and respond to a confirmation email.
10. You may also be asked to complete Part B collecting further personal details.
2. The response form is called Part A. You use it each time you make a comment. You can access this form from within each chapter.
3. You must attribute your response and comments to a specific chapter or Policy. The online response form prompts for this in questions 2a to 2g.
4. In question 3 the council is asking whether you think those individual chapters, paragraphs and Policies are (1) Legally Compliant and (2) Sound. More on this below.
5. Question 4 asks for your reasons supporting your response to question 3.
6. Question 5 asks you to document any modifications you feel are required to make the plan legally compliant or sound.
7. Question 6 allows you to upload any files or documents.
8. Questions 7 & 8 relate to whether wish to take part in the examination hearings.
9. You will then be asked to enter your email address and respond to a confirmation email.
10. You may also be asked to complete Part B collecting further personal details.
Important Points
1. You can complete a single chapter or Policy of the consultation and submit it, allowing you to come back to do other parts later. You do not have to do the whole consultation in one go.
2. However, you must fully complete and submit a part at each time as the system does not save partial entries. Always remember to submit each time and complete any requests for personal details and respond to confirmation emails.
3. If you have a lot to say on a section it might be best to compose offline and cut & paste it into the consultation portal. You can also attach Word and pdf documents.
4. The Regulation 19 consultation requires a name to be attributed to every comment when they are forwarded by the council to the Planning Inspector. Please remember to include this when requested.
5. All comments are passed verbatim to the Planning Inspector. They are not edited or summarised by Basildon council.
6. All comments will be published in full with the name of the person making the submission but no personal contact details (such as email address) will be published.
7. Therefore, do not put any personal details in the body of your comment unless you are happy for them to be made public.
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8. The deadline is midnight on Tuesday 22 September.
2. However, you must fully complete and submit a part at each time as the system does not save partial entries. Always remember to submit each time and complete any requests for personal details and respond to confirmation emails.
3. If you have a lot to say on a section it might be best to compose offline and cut & paste it into the consultation portal. You can also attach Word and pdf documents.
4. The Regulation 19 consultation requires a name to be attributed to every comment when they are forwarded by the council to the Planning Inspector. Please remember to include this when requested.
5. All comments are passed verbatim to the Planning Inspector. They are not edited or summarised by Basildon council.
6. All comments will be published in full with the name of the person making the submission but no personal contact details (such as email address) will be published.
7. Therefore, do not put any personal details in the body of your comment unless you are happy for them to be made public.
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8. The deadline is midnight on Tuesday 22 September.
Legally Compliant
We are not planning legal specialists and assume that the council has acted lawfully and followed correct process when creating the Local Plan.
Please remember that this is a question about process not content.
We therefore suggest that you say that the plan, or part of the plan that you are commenting on, is Legally Compliant by ticking the relevant box, unless you know otherwise and have facts to support your view that it is not legally compliant.
Please remember that this is a question about process not content.
We therefore suggest that you say that the plan, or part of the plan that you are commenting on, is Legally Compliant by ticking the relevant box, unless you know otherwise and have facts to support your view that it is not legally compliant.
Sound
Soundness is considered against 4 principles - Positively Prepared, Justified, Effective, and Consistent with National Policy.
These are some examples taken from Regulation 19 responses elsewhere that give an idea of the way you need to form your comments.
Not Justified (Lacks Evidence or Alternatives)
- The issue: The council chose a housing site without testing realistic brownfield options first.
- Example comment text: "Policy H2 is not justified because the council failed to properly examine reasonable brownfield alternatives within urban centres before allocating greenfield agricultural land. The evidence base relies on outdated 2021 urban capacity studies and ignores more sustainable options."
Not Effective (Unrealistic or Un-deliverable)
- The issue: A major new housing allocation lacks the road or school capacity to function, with no funding secured.
- Example comment text: "Site allocation MX1 is not effective because it is undeliverable within the plan period. The local junction at Main Road is already at capacity, and the plan contains no signed infrastructure agreement or financial commitment from the highway authority to mitigate severe traffic gridlock."
Not Consistent with National Policy
- The issue: The plan proposes building on protected land without proving the exceptional circumstances required by the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).
- Example comment text: "Policy GB4 fails to be consistent with national policy. It proposes major development on designated Green Belt land without demonstrating the 'exceptional circumstances' required under NPPF guidelines and fails to adequately protect local ecological habitats."
Not Positively Prepared
- The issue: The strategy arbitrarily restricts growth or fails to meet realistic local needs based on cross-boundary cooperation.
- Example comment text: "The housing target strategy is not positively prepared as it arbitrarily depresses the objectively assessed housing need for the district without clear, agreed statements of cooperation from neighbouring local authorities who cannot take the spillover.”
