Colchester Council approves 630-house Stanway development

Conditions have been attached to the agreement which will require improvements to junctions 25 and 26 of the A12 and a traffic management scheme after the 630-home project is completed.

The development is part of a Government requirement for Colchester Council to build 920 homes annually, with an expectation 18,400 homes will have been constructed in the 16-year period from 2017 to 2033.

At a meeting of the council’s planning committee last Thursday, members raised concerns about the suitability of the infrastructure and risks of flooding and the lack of details about community facilities.

Plan – the area has been set aside for development as part of the Local Plan (Image: Google)

Conservative councillor for Marks Tey and Layer, Jackie Maclean, warned against possible overflows.

She said: “We’ve really got to be careful because the area floods so much down there – the bus stop is constantly flooded.

“A lot of people are flooded out and do have issues.

“We need to be mindful that we’re not going to be backlogging a bigger problem later on down the line – it’s a bit of a mess down there at the moment and the roads are all breaking up because of it.”

Colchester Council’s planning manager Lucy Mondon said further details will be set out in a sustainable drainage systems scheme.

Stanway councillor Lesley Scott-Boutell added: “The community facilities – have you got a lot of detail there?

“Jansma Park could be a very beneficial facility for Stanway, but there’s been no consultation with the residents of Stanway as to what they’d like to see on this land.”

Building developers Weston Homes are required to construct 180 affordable homes out of the 630 being built.

Development – the area being developed is a section of land between London Road and Turkey Cock Lane (Image: Google Street View)

When taken in conjunction with the 66 dwellings approved on the site in 2022, the total number of dwellings would reach 666.

Weston Homes' Steve Hatton said: “Whilst we note and respect the nature of the public comments submitted, for a scheme of this magnitude we feel the comments received are relatively few in number and raise matters which are covered in detail within the submission."

Councillors Tracy Arnold, Robert Davidson, Jackie Maclean, Sam McCarthy, Kayleigh Rippingale, Catherine Spindler, Leigh Tate, and Martyn Warnes all voted to approve the application.