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We have made further background material available to download. 

This includes:

The Briefing Paper prepared for Stakeholders in November
Stakeholder Briefing

Community Engagement Strategy
Community Engagement Strategy

Local Centre Topic Paper
Local Centre topic paper

If you have any comments on this material, please let us know.

Consultation is still open until 6 January for people to comment on emerging proposals for Colchester North.  Registered users of the website can view the same material as was presented at the two consultation events and fill out the questionnaire on-line.

The exhibition materials are also available to view at Myland Parish Council's offices.  The boards will be available to view during office hours from 15 December until 6 January 2012. 

For further details, contact Mrs Helen Harris, Clerk to the Council, by e-mail at clerk@mylandparishcouncil.gov.uk or by phone on 01206 853400.  Office hours are
9 - 1pm Monday - Friday. 

Mersea Homes and Countryside Properties have launched a project website for their Colchester North proposals.  The website (www.colchesternorth.co.uk) provides background information about the site, the developers and the consultant team.  The website includes our emerging proposals and provides the chance for registered users to answer the same questionnaire as is available at consultation events.  The results of consultation events will also be available to view. 

Individuals are able to register through the website, which means they will be updated by e-mail as new items are added and will be able to submit comments and questions to the team.   Most importantly, registering on the website means that individuals will be able to take part in on-line consultation events.  

Stuart Cock, Managing Director of Mersea Homes commented "Keeping people informed of our proposals, and using on-line consultation methods will help us to keep make sure that as many people are possible can contribute to the discussion and learn about our proposals.  This scheme is an important part of Colchester's growth strategy, so it is important to us to make sure that information is available to help people understand what we are doing and why".

Steve Price, Senior Planning Manager at Countryside Properties commented "We understand that proposals such as ours can be controversial and of concern to people.  This website provides a way for people to check progress on our proposals, contribute to their design, and ask us about issues which are of interest to them.  We hope that people will use the website as a way of positively engaging to help shape the proposals". 

Local residents will have seen mechanical diggers on the Colchester north site in late summer.  The activity related to investigations into potential archaeological interest on the site, and was planned in cooperation with Colchester Borough Council.  The works related only to assessing the potential for archaeological interest, and involved both above ground survey work and some areas of investigation through digging trial trenches. 

Stuart Cock, Managing Director of Mersea Homes said "Colchester has a rich history of archaeological interest.  In order to understand what role our site plays, and whether there are areas of archaeological interest which we need to take into account in our designs, we are undertook these investigations sooner ather than later.  The results will help understand how we can best design the scheme to protect any important features".

The scope of investigations was discussed and agreed with Colchester Council's archaeology officer.  The work involved a survey of the whole site area, with detailed investigations in areas where the survey suggested particular archaeological interest.  If planning permission is granted for the scheme, further investigations may be necessary at that time. 

Residents will have noticed activity on and around the Colchester North site since the start of the year. A number of site investigations have been undertaken, and are ongoing, to help provide improved information about the site, and to make sure that proposals can be designed taking relevant information into account. These need to be done before a planning application for the scheme can be submitted. 

Investigations have included:

• a topography survey, which has provided detailed information about site levels, slopes and the alignment of boundaries, hedgerows, roads and other features. This work has also looked at the existing drainage ditches and culverts on and off the site. 
• an arboriculture survey, which has identified and assessed the health and condition of individual and groups of trees within the site.
• ecology surveys, which have searched for evidence of protected species within or near the site, as well as looking at habitats and foraging areas.  The types of survey needed were discussed and agreed with Colchester Borough Council, Essex County Council and Natural England.
• soakaway testing, which tests how easily water can pass into the soil on site.  This testing helps us to understand which sustainable drainage systems can be used most effectively on site and will allow us to plan properly for the site's drainage. 

These tests provide us with important information which informs the scheme design, and which will be reported in the Environmental Impact Assessment to be prepared as part of the planning application.  All of this information will allow consideration of findings as part of the decision whether to grant planning permission.

More information on the results of these surveys will be available on this site soon. 

Where ground has been disturbed by investigations, it will be restored to its previous condition.