Ongar needs a vision - and a bold new blueprint for its future is being drawn up by those anxious to see that the town shapes up in the one they want it to.

Members of the parish council and Ongar Consultative Group want to make sure Ongar takes control of its own destiny and gets the right development in the next 20 years.

They see Ongar as a place that has had an important mark in Essex for more than 1,000 years and they want that significance to continue.

Council vice-chairman Keith Tait told This Is Essex: "Up to now we've been the victim of speculative development where we have had to react to someone else's concept of our own future.

"Either we don't tolerate any development or we say what that development should be."

The group and the parish environment committee have considered a discussion paper, A Vision for Ongar, drawn up by consultant Paul Moxey.

His report looks in detail at the development of Ongar from its Iron Age origins, through Roman times and its pre-eminence as an important Saxon town right up to the present day.

"I was struck by the considerable time and energy which we devote to specific issues, such as the future of the hospital or the railway, car parking,'' he said.

"These are important matters but there seemed little attempt to take an overall, strategic, view of Ongar within the wider context of the town's historical development and the current and predicted changes at district, county or regional level.

"In other words, Ongar needs a vision."

Mr Moxey said that as Ongar approaches the millennium it is more wealthy in real terms than at any time in its history.

It has the highest percentage of working females in the Epping Forest district. More than 70 per cent of the 6,000 population own their own homes and 44 per cent are two-car families.

The report adds: "It certainly seems that there is sufficient wealth in Ongar to support local retailers and services assuming that local people spend their money in Ongar."

On the controversial issue of the town's growth, Mr Moxey said that some see it as destructive to Ongar's character, others argue that more homes would boost trade.

"The reality is that a major increase of population, unless accompanied by new sources of employment, would increase the amount of commuting on roads and add to the pressure on services,'' he said.

He warns that after a spurt in housing growth along the A12 and Great Eastern railway by 2011, the pressure for new building will switch to places like Ongar.

The report concludes: "Retaining a small, historic town should not be seen as incompatible with change but as an incentive to ensure that development is contained and compatible.

"It is a mistake to think that, because Ongar is small it has no influence over its destiny. If it has a clear vision of its own future it is more likely to influence plans for that future."

Consultative Group chairman Edwyn Gilmour said: "We know the district council intends to produce a plan for the future and has called for consultations. Now we are in the position to move forward and make recommendations."

Mr Tait said: "After this week's council elections I hope that we will give the environment committee the challenge to draw up a vision for Ongar."

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