Live Planning Event – Cllr Carlo Guglielmi, Tendring DC

The guest of Chelgate Local’s second Live Planning Event was Cllr Carlo Guglielmi, Deputy Leader of Tendring Council and Chairman of the Development & Regulation Committee at Essex County Council.  

He started with an update on Tendring’s local plan. Following the submission of additional evidence, the council has been in regular contact with the inspector whose letter is expected in the next few days. The council is confident that they complied with all requirements, but the inspector might deem further modifications needed. Cllr Guglielmi hopes however, that the inspector shares the government’s trust in soundness of Part 1 of the plan which was demonstration by allocation of the HIF fund money to the North Essex Authorities. Due to delays, some evidence for the Part 2 of the plan will need to be update but officers are doing this work as required.  Once Part 1 is approved the council will launch Part 2 immediately with public consultation expected in the Autumn.  

Cllr Guglielmi reported that the planning department has been working as normal and the first virtual committee meeting is due to take place next week. Next planning meeting will take place in the first week of May. How virtual meetings will work in practise remains to be seen but Cllr Guglielmi believes that they will be a success and are here to stay. Planning committees especially, are ideal for being held online as there’s not much interaction from the public. Virtual meetings will, however, allow bigger public to listen in, increasing democratic accountability. There will also be no need for many consultants to travel to meetings, decreasing the carbon emissions and impact on environment.  

Virtual meetings are also part of the solution to holding public consultations whilst the social distancing measures are in place. The digital solutions will provide an opportunity to engage with younger parts of the community, but older generations cannot be forgotten. Over the next few months, a key to effective and inclusive engagement will be a combination of both digital but also traditional ‘contactless’ measures. For some it will be easier, for some harder, but we all need to adapt to this new normal as changes have come and are likely here to stay.  

This was the second of a series of Live Planning Events hosted by Chelgate Local. For more details on past and upcoming events please visit our website.  

For more information on Chelgate Local’s contactless consultation please visit our website or get in touch with Mike Hardware at [email protected] or (0)20 7939 7989.