Progress
Public consultation
Two rounds of public consultation have been carried out, the first in November 2024 and the second in September 2025. These were centred around in-person consultation events, with the consultation material available to view and comment upon on a dedicated website.
Across both rounds of consultation, from November 2024 to October 2025, a total of 1,213 feedback responses were received via the multiple avenues made available for all to engage with. This includes 946 physical and online feedback submissions during the first round of consultation in 2024, 203 physical and online feedback submissions during the second round of consultation in 2025, 47 interactive map comments, and 17 emails received throughout the entire process.
Key themes
Feedback received from local residents
Key themes of feedback received from the second round of consultation included concerns regarding the inadequacy of existing infrastructure and public services, traffic congestion, coalescence and overdevelopment, and concerns regarding the Grey Belt designation, of which have all been outlined in the feedback section of the submitted Statement of Community Involvement.
Some residents who provided feedback during the second round of consultation also shared remarks that were supportive or conditionally supportive of the proposals, acknowledging the need for new housing in Uttlesford, recognising the improvements made to the proposals and appreciating the community benefits and environmental measures proposed.
Uttlesford survey
Additional engagement
In addition to the above engagement, a telephone questionnaire was undertaken with 108 residents living in the Uttlesford district. The aim of this was to build a community opinion snapshot, exploring people’s attitudes to future housing needs of the area, the provision of new housing as part of the two applications, and the types of facilities most important to the community.
The survey provided the following insights:
- Over 70% of those questioned think housing is not affordable in Uttlesford
- Two in three think more homes are needed
- Over 70% support at least half the homes being provided as affordable
- Discounted homes for first time buyers is seen as the most important affordable housing need
- Affordable housing should be prioritised for local people and key workers
- Two in five support the proposals
- Over 50% think the location is suitable for new housing
- Over two in three support the revisions made to the proposals
- Developers should prioritise road and parking infrastructure and educational facilities alongside housing.
Review & application submission
Uttlesford Quality Review Panel
In September 2025 we presented our emerging proposals to the Uttlesford Quality Review Panel, made up of professionals in planning, design, landscape, transport and heritage. They concluded that:
‘the panel are encouraged by the direction of the scheme and commend the strength of the project team. There is confidence that if the current momentum is maintained, the project has the potential to deliver a high-quality outcome.’
Outline Planning Applications
The planning applications were submitted on 6th November 2025 and have now been validated and registered on Uttlesford District Council’s planning portal. This means that full details of the planning applications are now available on the portal, as well as details for how public comments can be submitted.
