LPC Response to Local Plan "Reg 19" Public Consultation
*** Click Here to read Colchester City Council's full guidance and links for submitting a personal representation ***Between now and early October, this webpage will be updated to share draft and final versions of LPC's formal representations on behalf of the village. A Parish Council Working Group is working hard in the background to prepare a strong representation challenging the soundness and legality of the "PP37" plans for Langham, ahead of the consultation deadline of 13th October 2026. We are also proposing to hold a Public Meeting on the evening of 1st October, to brief residents and seek your support ahead of our submission.
Right now, this page provides some background context on Colchester's latest Local Plan proposals, and the purpose and scope of the Regulation 19 consultation. You can also scroll down to the end of the webpage to view LPC's evolving draft representation material. This is a work in progress and will be subject to change and additions right up until 12th or 13th October.
Right now, this page provides some background context on Colchester's latest Local Plan proposals, and the purpose and scope of the Regulation 19 consultation. You can also scroll down to the end of the webpage to view LPC's evolving draft representation material. This is a work in progress and will be subject to change and additions right up until 12th or 13th October.
LPC's Public Meeting for Residents - 1st October
This meeting is being scheduled for the evening of Thursday 1st October, starting at 7pm in the Main Hall at Langham Community Centre. We hope to see a really good turnout to discuss Colchester's Proposals and how best we should respond to them, both as individual residents and collectively through the Parish Council. A fuller agenda will be published nearer the time, but for the moment please "save the date" in your diaries. If you have any specific questions or suggestions for inclusion in the agenda, please send them through to the Parish Clerk at the email address shown in the website header.
Update: Many thanks to the ~70 people who attended this meeting (personal email invitations were sent to the ~300 subscribers on the Langham900 Mailing List). Many thanks as well to our Ward Councillor Tom Rowe who helped answer questions from the floor. We hope everybody found the meeting useful. Here is a copy of the slides presented at the meeting:
1st October Presentation SlidesUpdate: Many thanks to the ~70 people who attended this meeting (personal email invitations were sent to the ~300 subscribers on the Langham900 Mailing List). Many thanks as well to our Ward Councillor Tom Rowe who helped answer questions from the floor. We hope everybody found the meeting useful. Here is a copy of the slides presented at the meeting:
Colchester City Council's Latest Proposals for Langham
The latest plans for Langham are included in the following policy statements:
PP37: slightly reduced from 900 dwellings to 850 dwellings
PP38: retained at 10 dwellings
PEP10: expansion of the business site at Lodge Lane
You can read the Langham preamble and full policy wordings via the button below (which takes you directly to Colchester City Council's online consultation website):
Langham PoliciesPP37: slightly reduced from 900 dwellings to 850 dwellings
PP38: retained at 10 dwellings
PEP10: expansion of the business site at Lodge Lane
You can read the Langham preamble and full policy wordings via the button below (which takes you directly to Colchester City Council's online consultation website):
You can access the full Colchester-wide consultation documentation pack via this button:
Full Consultation PackThere are three consultation document packs which run to a total of about 1,500 pages. Representations can be made on all of the individual Reg 19 policy wordings, and also on the supporting Habitat Regulations Assessment Report and the Sustainability Appraisal Report).
You can access the full library of updated Evidence documents that underpin the new Local Plan via this button:
Full Evidence Base DocumentationThe evidence base includes late August updates which run to over 3,600 pages of new material.
Difference between "Reg 18" and "Reg 19" Public Consultations
At the Reg 18 consultation stage, the Local Planning Authority (Colchester City Council in our case) are still open to considering improvements and amendments to their draft Local Plan. Indeed, some changes have been made following the Reg 18 consultation, with some sites dropped, some added, and some amended in scale. Reg 18 representations are NOT automatically carried forward into the Reg 19 consultation.
At the Reg 19 consultation stage, the Local Planning Authority have finalised their proposals and do not want to entertain any further amendments, unless they are forced to as a result of concerns that the Plan will be deemed unsound or illegal by the Independent Planning Inspector when he or she "examines" the plan in early 2027. At this stage, CCC have no further interest in optimising or improving the Plan. They are simply concerned to understand whether it meets minimum standards of soundness and legal compliance.
To be effective, all representations to the Reg 19 consultation need to be based on an understanding of the tightly limited scope of consultation.
Many of the issues and concerns that were raised by Langham residents in their 311 Reg 18 representations may still remain valid, BUT they now need to be re-framed and re-submitted against the soundness tests and legal compliance tests that will be assessed by the Planning Inspector next year.
If you want to read more about the definition and scope of the four main soundness tests used by the Planning Inspectorate, you can read an explanatory overview via the button below:
The 4 Local Plan Soundness TestsAt the Reg 19 consultation stage, the Local Planning Authority have finalised their proposals and do not want to entertain any further amendments, unless they are forced to as a result of concerns that the Plan will be deemed unsound or illegal by the Independent Planning Inspector when he or she "examines" the plan in early 2027. At this stage, CCC have no further interest in optimising or improving the Plan. They are simply concerned to understand whether it meets minimum standards of soundness and legal compliance.
To be effective, all representations to the Reg 19 consultation need to be based on an understanding of the tightly limited scope of consultation.
Many of the issues and concerns that were raised by Langham residents in their 311 Reg 18 representations may still remain valid, BUT they now need to be re-framed and re-submitted against the soundness tests and legal compliance tests that will be assessed by the Planning Inspector next year.
If you want to read more about the definition and scope of the four main soundness tests used by the Planning Inspectorate, you can read an explanatory overview via the button below: