Our planning team recently completed the penultimate stage of Braintree District Council’s Sustainability Appraisal (SA) prior to Examination, which will be used to inform the development of the Braintree District Local Plan.

Located in north Essex, Braintree is a predominantly rural district and is one of the fastest growing areas in England. This means it is essential that the District responds to the growing needs of its rising population, whilst ensuring development and growth is sustainable.

Sustainability Appraisal is a tool used to asses planning policy documents to evaluate the social, economic and environmental implications of the document. A sustainable plan should meet the needs of a community and the environment, without compromising the ability of future communities to meet their needs. Our planners assessed the Local Plan policies, including proposed housing and employment sites, against a number of sustainability objectives. The objectives included promotion of sustainable transport choices, mitigation of potential health inequalities and conserving and enhancing the biological and geological diversity of the area. Elements of the SA our planners enjoyed the most included the challenging tasks of assessing and evaluating the effect housing and employment sites might have on historic buildings, nature conservation and access to employment opportunities within the area.

LUC’s Planning team is delighted to be working with Braintree District Council on this SA, which builds on our history of work undertaken in and around the area.