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 …”

87-home application refused

The committee unanimously refused the outline application for up to 87 dwellings. The refusal motion cited inappropriate Green Belt development, failure to meet the open-space requirement, insufficien…

“Firstly, I believe it's inappropriate development on the green belt, um and that the land strongly contributes to purpose A. My second point would be …”

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…”

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…”

Sewer capacity and Grampian

A major concern was foul sewer capacity at the Rockford Depot pumping station / local network. Members were not satisfied that the development could be occupied safely without first securing upgrades,…

“The concern is the additional floors increasing the risk of spills and therefore pollution and flood risk. That was the initial concern set out by Ang…”