BRENTWOOD Council want to positively plan for our Borough’s future by providing for needed development but also retaining the quality of its natural and built environment - and they want residents help to do it.

The council are working hard to produce a new Local Plan which both protects the essential qualities of the Borough, while at the same time delivering the housing, jobs, open space and other infrastructure that will be required in future.

The latest public consultation on the new Local Plan will begin on Tuesday, January 6, and will run until Tuesday, February 17. The Council are urging people to visit thier website and view the Strategic Growth Options Consultation and have their say.

Between July and September 2013, the Council carried out a consultation on the Local Plan 2015-2030 Preferred Options. The consultation ran for 10 weeks and generated an impressive 3,173 comments from 1,239 people.

Councillor Phil Baker, in charge of planning and development, is keen to stress this is a consultation not a final plan and no decisions have been made, he said: “We want to take a significant step towards providing certainty for our community and for the future.

“The sites set out in the consultation document are potential development sites that were suggested by developers, landowners and residents in previous consultations. Not all the sites are needed to meet the nationally set housing requirements for the Borough.

“It is important we get the views of our residents on where they would like to see development and just as importantly – sites they do not want developed.

“It is essential we go through the proper planning law process before any sites are considered suitable or unsuitable for development to protect the Borough in the future or unplanned development. We have to have plans in place to ensure that we are not left vulnerable to predatory planning applications in the future”.

To have your say on the consultation please go to www.brentwood.gov.uk/localplan from January 6.

To be kept up-to-date with the latest news on the Local Development Plan you can sign up for the council newsletter by emailing planning.policy@brentwood.gov.uk or by calling 01277 312620.