Who's Plan Is It? Who Do We Blame?
A lot of time has passed since Basildon Council embarked on creating a new Local Plan. It's been 7 years since the first clear details emerged and a considerable amount of change has taken place, both in terms of the content of the Local Plan and those involved in its creation.
Over those years there has been frequent change in the administration of the Council, switching almost annually from one political party to another, from coalition to alliance. There has been little opportunity for continuity from a leadership position.
But despite all this change a draft Local Plan somehow managed to get created. It's a bad plan, but when we look back who's plan is it? Who's to blame for potentially condemning the borough to excessive housing, the loss of hundreds of hectares of green fields and scant new infrastructure? Was it the Conservatives who held power at various times? Was it the Labour/Independent coalition in 2017/18, or the Basildon Alliance that disposed the Conservatives in 2019?
Or was it the Council's planning officers who saw the plan through from its conception in 2014 to its submission to the Planning Inspector in 2019. They were the only constant throughout, but even they have now gone.
There is a strong argument that the last hands on it are responsible and that everything that went before is now immaterial. In that case there is no argument that the Conservative administration in 2018/19 was to blame. By the time they retook control of the Council in May 2018 the bulk of the content of the Local Plan was fixed. They made a few changes but in term of housing numbers and Green Belt loss they changed very little. They approved the plan in October 2018 and submitted it in March 2019.
But it's worth looking back a bit further to better understand where that content came from and who was involved in signing it off.
In this article we show the timeline of the evolution of the Local Plan, using the available facts and our best recollections of what happened and when. But more importantly who did what, as it is the actions of individuals that shaped the Local Plan, made decisions (good or bad) and left us with the potential for a very damaging Local Plan being adopted in the not too distant future.
Over those years there has been frequent change in the administration of the Council, switching almost annually from one political party to another, from coalition to alliance. There has been little opportunity for continuity from a leadership position.
But despite all this change a draft Local Plan somehow managed to get created. It's a bad plan, but when we look back who's plan is it? Who's to blame for potentially condemning the borough to excessive housing, the loss of hundreds of hectares of green fields and scant new infrastructure? Was it the Conservatives who held power at various times? Was it the Labour/Independent coalition in 2017/18, or the Basildon Alliance that disposed the Conservatives in 2019?
Or was it the Council's planning officers who saw the plan through from its conception in 2014 to its submission to the Planning Inspector in 2019. They were the only constant throughout, but even they have now gone.
There is a strong argument that the last hands on it are responsible and that everything that went before is now immaterial. In that case there is no argument that the Conservative administration in 2018/19 was to blame. By the time they retook control of the Council in May 2018 the bulk of the content of the Local Plan was fixed. They made a few changes but in term of housing numbers and Green Belt loss they changed very little. They approved the plan in October 2018 and submitted it in March 2019.
But it's worth looking back a bit further to better understand where that content came from and who was involved in signing it off.
In this article we show the timeline of the evolution of the Local Plan, using the available facts and our best recollections of what happened and when. But more importantly who did what, as it is the actions of individuals that shaped the Local Plan, made decisions (good or bad) and left us with the potential for a very damaging Local Plan being adopted in the not too distant future.
"Billericay Tories"?
Over they years, when the Conservative group has achieved a majority on Basildon Council, we have heard constant “Billericay Tory” jibes form their opponents. These taunts suggest the Tories favour Billericay at the expense of other areas – but do they?
The claims of favouring Billericay are often expressed in the context of harmful Conservative mistakes in Basildon – and the Conservatives don’t have a monopoly on that - but that doesn’t mean Billericay has benefitted.
We have certainly received very little investment from Basildon Council, regardless of ruling political persuasion, though it’s fair to say our need is less than some areas, so that’s not such a problem. The real problem is that the Conservatives carry the lion’s share of blame for an amateurish Local Plan, which if adopted, will cause irreversible damage to our town. They have far from favoured Billericay and there is a good argument that they have lent on compliant Billericay to appease other parts of the borough where seats are more at risk.
The claims of favouring Billericay are often expressed in the context of harmful Conservative mistakes in Basildon – and the Conservatives don’t have a monopoly on that - but that doesn’t mean Billericay has benefitted.
We have certainly received very little investment from Basildon Council, regardless of ruling political persuasion, though it’s fair to say our need is less than some areas, so that’s not such a problem. The real problem is that the Conservatives carry the lion’s share of blame for an amateurish Local Plan, which if adopted, will cause irreversible damage to our town. They have far from favoured Billericay and there is a good argument that they have lent on compliant Billericay to appease other parts of the borough where seats are more at risk.
2014 Spatial Strategy
In early 2014 the Conservatives first announced a policy of large scale development in the Green Belt, this seemed to have occurred because they had been led to believe that:
The Conservatives proposed that OAN be met in full, with housing growth spread across the borough based on population distribution irrespective of Green Belt constraints, the location of brownfield, or the specific merits, dis-merits, sustainability or simple sensibilities of the sites available.
This included 2,100 houses on Billericay’s Green Belt: 600 in the south-east and a further 1,500 somewhere in the west if and when road traffic issues could be addressed. We now know that an unknown individual with a map, a set of crayons and no local knowledge had already invented the counter-productive Relief Road concept which claims to do that.
- The Objectively Assessed Need (OAN) housing figure was a true reflection of local needs (disproven).
- That without a Local Plan, Green Belt protection would expire and there would be a developer feeding frenzy (disproven).
- That we had to meet OAN, even if that meant building on Green Belt (arguably disproven).
The Conservatives proposed that OAN be met in full, with housing growth spread across the borough based on population distribution irrespective of Green Belt constraints, the location of brownfield, or the specific merits, dis-merits, sustainability or simple sensibilities of the sites available.
This included 2,100 houses on Billericay’s Green Belt: 600 in the south-east and a further 1,500 somewhere in the west if and when road traffic issues could be addressed. We now know that an unknown individual with a map, a set of crayons and no local knowledge had already invented the counter-productive Relief Road concept which claims to do that.
2016 - First Draft Local Plan
This draft was consulted on in early 2016 and included 1,700 houses on Billericay Green Belt, including 900 in the south-west on four sites linked by a newly announced “Relief Road”.
At the consultation, residents pointed out the many problems with the sites and the fundamentally flawed “Relief Road” idea, while the developers said the 900 houses in the south-west was not enough to pay for the Relief Road. The people of Billericay were ignored, the developers were pandered to.
So, in late 2016 the Conservatives launched a “New and Amended Sites” consultation with considered expanding sites already in the Plan or adding new sites to it, they also commissioned the “South-west high level development framework” to consider the economics of that area and which would go on to recommend that around 1,700 were built in the south west in order to pay for the Relief Road.
These activities didn’t, at that stage, add the further houses to the 1,700 already in the Plan, but were important enabling steps.
Then - to their great credit - the Conservative leadership decided to commission an independent consultant to investigate how to develop a sound plan which did not meet OAN, something that would have improved the Local Plan for all parts of the borough. Many opposition councillors supported them in this.
The Conservatives subsequently lost power, and they might argue that if they had retained control they would not have hit Billericay in the way that the new Coalition did, however ,subsequent events call that into question.
At the consultation, residents pointed out the many problems with the sites and the fundamentally flawed “Relief Road” idea, while the developers said the 900 houses in the south-west was not enough to pay for the Relief Road. The people of Billericay were ignored, the developers were pandered to.
So, in late 2016 the Conservatives launched a “New and Amended Sites” consultation with considered expanding sites already in the Plan or adding new sites to it, they also commissioned the “South-west high level development framework” to consider the economics of that area and which would go on to recommend that around 1,700 were built in the south west in order to pay for the Relief Road.
These activities didn’t, at that stage, add the further houses to the 1,700 already in the Plan, but were important enabling steps.
Then - to their great credit - the Conservative leadership decided to commission an independent consultant to investigate how to develop a sound plan which did not meet OAN, something that would have improved the Local Plan for all parts of the borough. Many opposition councillors supported them in this.
The Conservatives subsequently lost power, and they might argue that if they had retained control they would not have hit Billericay in the way that the new Coalition did, however ,subsequent events call that into question.
2017 - Second Draft Local Plan
In May 2017 the Conservatives lost power and a Labour-UKIP-Independent coalition took control. Not long after, central government issued threats to 15 Local Authorities, including Basildon, to deliver a Plan ASAP or face some sort of unspecified intervention.
Councillors believed that any intervention was be a nightmare scenario, worse than anything Basildon Council could conceivably deliver. With this in mind and under pressure from disapproving Planning Officers, councillors of all parties agreed to scrap the idea of commissioning a consultant to assist with a sub-OAN Plan.
The Coalition-led committee developing the Plan then turned on Billericay, the plan would now have 3,000 houses on Billericay's Green Belt, including 2,000 in the south-west (including 1,000 more to pay for the Relief Road, although the need for those extra houses was identified as an action in 2016 when the Conservatives were in power), with the road itself now going through Frith Wood with a wider loop to give Taylor Wimpey 300 more houses.
In December 2017 the four Conservatives on the committee, including a “Billericay Tory”, all voted for the 2,000 south-western homes and for the road to go through the wood. The Tories split their vote for the remaining Billericay sites, with a mixture of votes for, against and abstentions for those sites. This was the point when the fate of Billericay in the Local Plan was truly set, by a cross-party committee. That meeting in December 2017 turned out to be very defining.
Under enormous public pressure, the Coalition later backed down from their intention to drive the road through Frith Wood, but Taylor Wimpey kept their extra 300 homes.
On 22 March 2018, at full Council, in front of several hundred attendees, and thousands online, the Conservatives then voted against the plan they had broadly accepted in committee a few months earlier. The plan was, with no surprise, approved by the ruling Labour led Coalition.
The voting record can be found in column 10 in the images below.
Councillors believed that any intervention was be a nightmare scenario, worse than anything Basildon Council could conceivably deliver. With this in mind and under pressure from disapproving Planning Officers, councillors of all parties agreed to scrap the idea of commissioning a consultant to assist with a sub-OAN Plan.
The Coalition-led committee developing the Plan then turned on Billericay, the plan would now have 3,000 houses on Billericay's Green Belt, including 2,000 in the south-west (including 1,000 more to pay for the Relief Road, although the need for those extra houses was identified as an action in 2016 when the Conservatives were in power), with the road itself now going through Frith Wood with a wider loop to give Taylor Wimpey 300 more houses.
In December 2017 the four Conservatives on the committee, including a “Billericay Tory”, all voted for the 2,000 south-western homes and for the road to go through the wood. The Tories split their vote for the remaining Billericay sites, with a mixture of votes for, against and abstentions for those sites. This was the point when the fate of Billericay in the Local Plan was truly set, by a cross-party committee. That meeting in December 2017 turned out to be very defining.
Under enormous public pressure, the Coalition later backed down from their intention to drive the road through Frith Wood, but Taylor Wimpey kept their extra 300 homes.
On 22 March 2018, at full Council, in front of several hundred attendees, and thousands online, the Conservatives then voted against the plan they had broadly accepted in committee a few months earlier. The plan was, with no surprise, approved by the ruling Labour led Coalition.
The voting record can be found in column 10 in the images below.
All that being said, the Coalition got some things right. For instance, when the OAN increased by several thousand the Coalition decided not to meet it; unfortunately they didn’t give any real reasons for this, they ought to have cited Green Belt and Infrastructure constraints.
They were also responsible for introducing the good policy that biases development towards housing of 3 bedrooms or less as that is where most local housing needs sits. They also increased the policy for affordable housing to 31% on all sites. Still low compared to neighbouring boroughs but a move in the right direction.
All that being said, the Coalition got some things right. For instance, when the OAN increased by several thousand the Coalition decided not to meet it; unfortunately they didn’t give any real reasons for this, they ought to have cited Green Belt and Infrastructure constraints.
They were also responsible for introducing the good policy that biases development towards housing of 3 bedrooms or less as that is where most local housing needs sits. They also increased the policy for affordable housing to 31% on all sites. Still low compared to neighbouring boroughs but a move in the right direction.
2018 - Third Draft Local Plan
In May 2018, before the Coalition had time to hold a final statutory consultation and submit the Local Plan to the Planning Inspector, the Conservatives regained power, but any hopes the Plan would be significantly revised were in vain. The Conservative group were in fear of central government intervention and did very little other than panic to get a plan finalised.
BAG gave a number of reasons why the government threat was a largely empty one and were scorned for being naïve. We have some sympathy for the position that the Conservatives found themselves in regarding intervention, but now feel that our view has been largely vindicated as several years have now passed with no intervention, and that their assurances that infrastructure would always come first is the naïve view.
The Conservatives rightly removed Taylor Wimpey’s additional 300 houses and the Traveller sites intended for distribution within the housing sites in the south west as added by the previous Coalition. They also removed a site the Coalition had placed in a Conservative held ward in Basildon. But they made no further improvements for Billericay and the core 2,700 houses simply carried forward from the Coalition's second draft Local Plan of the previous year.
At full Council on 18 October 2018, Labour, UKIP and Independent members proposed a number of spiteful but unsuccessful amendments to build over a thousand extra homes across seven further Billericay sites. This was the Coalition's last hurrah to hurt Billericay but to the Conservatives credit they voted down these amendments.
However, they went on at that same meeting to approve the third and final iteration of the Local Plan with the vote again running largely down party political lines. The controlling Conservative group plus a couple of Independents voting for the plan with the Labour led Coalition voting against.
The way the councillors voted can be seen in column 10 below.
BAG gave a number of reasons why the government threat was a largely empty one and were scorned for being naïve. We have some sympathy for the position that the Conservatives found themselves in regarding intervention, but now feel that our view has been largely vindicated as several years have now passed with no intervention, and that their assurances that infrastructure would always come first is the naïve view.
The Conservatives rightly removed Taylor Wimpey’s additional 300 houses and the Traveller sites intended for distribution within the housing sites in the south west as added by the previous Coalition. They also removed a site the Coalition had placed in a Conservative held ward in Basildon. But they made no further improvements for Billericay and the core 2,700 houses simply carried forward from the Coalition's second draft Local Plan of the previous year.
At full Council on 18 October 2018, Labour, UKIP and Independent members proposed a number of spiteful but unsuccessful amendments to build over a thousand extra homes across seven further Billericay sites. This was the Coalition's last hurrah to hurt Billericay but to the Conservatives credit they voted down these amendments.
However, they went on at that same meeting to approve the third and final iteration of the Local Plan with the vote again running largely down party political lines. The controlling Conservative group plus a couple of Independents voting for the plan with the Labour led Coalition voting against.
The way the councillors voted can be seen in column 10 below.
Throughout this sorry saga politics, rather than the wishes and needs of local residents, have not been far from the surface and have to some degree tainted the outcome. We find this unpalatable as something as important as a Local Plan, that will define events and affect residents for years to come, should transcend grubby party politics. We deserve better.
In March 2019 the Conservative led Council, 5 years after starting it, finally submitted a Local Plan to the Planning Inspector for examination. This examination has been much delayed and is now expected to take place around mid-2022, some 3 years after the plan was submitted and some 8 years since work began on its creation. It's out of date before its even examined!
Throughout this sorry saga politics, rather than the wishes and needs of local residents, have not been far from the surface and have to some degree tainted the outcome. We find this unpalatable as something as important as a Local Plan, that will define events and affect residents for years to come, should transcend grubby party politics. We deserve better.
In March 2019 the Conservative led Council, 5 years after starting it, finally submitted a Local Plan to the Planning Inspector for examination. This examination has been much delayed and is now expected to take place around mid-2022, some 3 years after the plan was submitted and some 8 years since work began on its creation. It's out of date before its even examined!
2019-2021 - The Basildon Alliance
In May 2019 the Conservatives yet again lost control of the Council to a Labour led coalition with various Independents, calling themselves the Basildon Alliance.
They did nothing to improve or worsen the Local Plan from a Billericay perspective during the 2 years they were in power, preferring to concentrate on investments in Basildon and Wickford where seats we more important, or specifically, winnable.
In May 2021 the Alliance lost power to the Conservatives.
They did nothing to improve or worsen the Local Plan from a Billericay perspective during the 2 years they were in power, preferring to concentrate on investments in Basildon and Wickford where seats we more important, or specifically, winnable.
In May 2021 the Alliance lost power to the Conservatives.
Conclusion
Long before the coalition took control in 2017, Conservative councillors told us “if you think we’re bad, you should see what the opposition would do”. This would be ridiculous hyperbole in a normal local authority, but in Broken Basildon they were proved completely right – but they were also damning themselves with very faint praise.
Other parts of the borough have legitimate grievances, and the Coalition was very hostile to Billericay, but the Conservatives are the authors of most of our impending misfortunes. They might have been badly advised, but a major diminishment of Billericay and its countryside will be their permanent legacy. The “Billericay Tories” tag may get under their skin, but it’s a complete misnomer. They have not helped us at all.
The best and probably only way to redeem themselves is for the Conservatives to withdraw the Local Plan which as well as being a very bad plan is also hopelessly out of date with much of its supporting evidence going back 8-10 years. But sadly we believe that they are doubling down - we understand that they will be hiring a barrister to defend the Local Plan when the Inspector conducts his Examination in Public next year. In doing this they will be seeking to get the Local Plan adopted in more or less its current form.
But there could be a glimmer of hope and the Conservative administration has one last chance to atone for this bad Local Plan. Boris Johnson's recent announcement at the Conservative Party Conference that future house building will not be on green fields provides a legitimate way out for local Conservatives and allows them to save face. If they have the will to take it!
Other parts of the borough have legitimate grievances, and the Coalition was very hostile to Billericay, but the Conservatives are the authors of most of our impending misfortunes. They might have been badly advised, but a major diminishment of Billericay and its countryside will be their permanent legacy. The “Billericay Tories” tag may get under their skin, but it’s a complete misnomer. They have not helped us at all.
The best and probably only way to redeem themselves is for the Conservatives to withdraw the Local Plan which as well as being a very bad plan is also hopelessly out of date with much of its supporting evidence going back 8-10 years. But sadly we believe that they are doubling down - we understand that they will be hiring a barrister to defend the Local Plan when the Inspector conducts his Examination in Public next year. In doing this they will be seeking to get the Local Plan adopted in more or less its current form.
But there could be a glimmer of hope and the Conservative administration has one last chance to atone for this bad Local Plan. Boris Johnson's recent announcement at the Conservative Party Conference that future house building will not be on green fields provides a legitimate way out for local Conservatives and allows them to save face. If they have the will to take it!
The Conservatives, and especially the “Billericay Tories”, may be annoyed by this article, but to them we say - have we got anything wrong here?
If so, they have the right of reply. They can write to us and we will publish any reply with this article.
If so, they have the right of reply. They can write to us and we will publish any reply with this article.
Postscript
As we mentioned above, Basildon Council bent over backwards to give the developers enough houses to pay for the Relief Road, but now the developers are saying they should not have to build the road at all. The quoted £60m cost might have something to do with it! The Council's expectation is that the 4 developers associated with the large housing estates in the south west must provide a contiguous road linking those sites under an approved Masterplan.
The road would be counter-productive even if no houses were built, but to build 1,700 houses in the south-west without it would be the worst of all worlds putting huge extra pressure on our existing roads with potential for rat runs through existing estates. Infrastructure first?
The road would be counter-productive even if no houses were built, but to build 1,700 houses in the south-west without it would be the worst of all worlds putting huge extra pressure on our existing roads with potential for rat runs through existing estates. Infrastructure first?
For Reference
The following table shows the continual change in administration at Basildon Council from when the Local Plan was first mute in 2014, especially so in the years since 2017 when the Council has operated on a committee system.
With the committee system the party or coalition with a majority of seats on the Council holds power and can typically push matters through either within the individual committees or at a vote of the full council. It was primarily the committee system that allowed Labour and various Independents to take majority control. This system tends to disadvantage the councillors in the minority group as they have very little say or influence.
Under the alternative cabinet system, the individual party with the largest number of seats on the Council typically has power, but they do not need a majority of the seats. This was the case with the Conservatives between 2014 and 2017 during which UKIP was most active. A number of those UKIP councillors now stand as Independents.
The current Conservative administration has proposed a move back to the cabinet system with effect from the next elections in May 2022.
There are 42 seats in total making up Basildon council. 22 seats or more are therefore needed for a clear majority. Not every seat is contested each year. The May elections usually see around a third of the seats up for re-election.
Of the 42, Billericay is represented by 9 seats, all of which are currently held by the Conservatives. There are 3 seats in each of the East, West and Burstead wards.
The current position on the Council as at October 2021 is;
Conservatives - 25 seats
Labour - 10 seats
The Independent Group - 4 seats
Wickford Independents - 2 seats
Vacant - 1 seat (was previously Labour. The by-election is to be held in November 2021)
Under the alternative cabinet system, the individual party with the largest number of seats on the Council typically has power, but they do not need a majority of the seats. This was the case with the Conservatives between 2014 and 2017 during which UKIP was most active. A number of those UKIP councillors now stand as Independents.
The current Conservative administration has proposed a move back to the cabinet system with effect from the next elections in May 2022.
There are 42 seats in total making up Basildon council. 22 seats or more are therefore needed for a clear majority. Not every seat is contested each year. The May elections usually see around a third of the seats up for re-election.
Of the 42, Billericay is represented by 9 seats, all of which are currently held by the Conservatives. There are 3 seats in each of the East, West and Burstead wards.
The current position on the Council as at October 2021 is;
Conservatives - 25 seats
Labour - 10 seats
The Independent Group - 4 seats
Wickford Independents - 2 seats
Vacant - 1 seat (was previously Labour. The by-election is to be held in November 2021)