Social Value Ideas for Rochford District Council

Imperial Park gym approved

The committee approved a change of use for Units 14 and 15, Imperial Park, Roroth Lane, from warehousing/storage to a gymnasium despite officer concerns about parking demand. Members accepted argument…

“This application is located on the Imperial Park Industrial Estate on the South side of Roroth Lane. Am I waiting for camera again? We can't show the …”

Minerals notice defect

The inspector found a notification problem relating to a mines and minerals interest on the land, concluding the requisite notices had not been served. This was serious enough to stop the inquiry beca…

“Good afternoon everybody. The um inquiry is resumed. Um apologies for um these interruptions. Um so I have some concerns over the procedural notificat…”

Refusal of single dwelling at Dormers

The committee considered a proposal for one dwelling on garden land at Dormers, Lower Road, Hockley. Officers said the site was grey belt but unsustainable because there was no safe footway or realist…

“This application is to a site on the northern side of Lara Road to the east of the Riverside Nursery and formed from the subdivision of the front gard…”

Appeal to be adjourned

Because of the minerals notification issue, the inspector adjourned the inquiry and said the 29 September return date was only provisional. The council was asked to update the website, and a site visi…

“Um, that means we can't continue today. Um so what I'm going to do is adjourn the inquiry until when we were due to resume on the 29th of September. U…”

Late inquiry documents

The inspector said the parties had been very late in supplying finalized conditions, statements of common ground and the draft section 106, making inquiry preparation difficult. This created procedura…

“before I go any further, um, I need to let you know how difficult it's been to prepare for this inquiry. Um, I've had to chase up outstanding document…”

Request extension to local plan deadline

The committee agreed to seek an extension to the submission deadline for the Rochford District Local Plan, with the chair proposing that a letter be sent to the Secretary of State setting out exceptio…

“Um, my view is that um the only risk that we're we're uh looking is that uh we get a negative response and we have to carry on as we're carrying on. I…”

Compressed local plan timetable

The council is under significant time pressure to complete and scrutinize the local plan evidence base, with only a short period left before Regulation 19 and the submission deadline. Officers and mem…

“Item seven, proposed letter to NHCLG on local plan timetable. The report begins on Page one of the supplementary agenda, which was circulated today. T…”

Set up weekly local plan reference group

The committee approved a new member reference group and all-member briefing process to accelerate scrutiny of the local plan evidence base before Regulation 19. Officers indicated dates would be arran…

“Speaker 2: Thank you. So as we've already spoken about, we have a tight time scale now to move forward with the local plan. So as part of that process…”

Adopt revised Rams framework

The council approved a revised coastal mitigation framework for the Essex Coast, moving from the existing supplementary planning document to a technical advice note. The policy is intended to protect …

“Speaker 11: This work has been undertaken with the involvement and support of Natural England as part of the coordinated Essex wide approach. This is …”

ASB policy adopted

The committee approved the council's antisocial behaviour policy. Officers noted a correction was needed to include a full definition of ASB in section 3.2, but the policy itself was adopted.

“Yes. So, the the policy sets out the council's approach to responding to reports of such behavior uh and gives us due uh gives due regard to section 1…”

High Street Rangers extended

Members agreed to extend the High Street Rangers pilot to 31 December 2026 and approved £27,000 from reserves for the September to December period. The committee also asked officers to develop a longe…

“So this is a report of the uh work of the um pilot scheme of the town ranges and uh the activities that they've taken place since they've been in plac…”

Domestic abuse policy adopted

The committee approved the domestic abuse policy, with a clarification raised about the review cycle and covering documentation. The policy was adopted at the meeting.

“Yeah. So, the Watchford domestic abuse policy outlines um the council's approach to responding to reports of domestic abuse. Um again, happy to answer…”