Braintree District Council

Support for Affordable Food Projects in Rural Braintree Apply by 23rd August 2024

Support and funding available for community based, affordable food programmes, such as a community fridge, larder, pantry, community dining project, or local community meals project 

Conversations in Braintree over the last few months have been really positive and there is a clear need to address food insecurity in the District over the coming years, supporting individuals and families from falling into financial crisis and enabling everybody who needs it, to access healthy, nutritious food and affordable household items.

Essex County Council and Braintree District Council are working together to develop a new proposal for Rural Braintree that builds on the success of the Community Supermarket programme elsewhere in Essex, but that recognises, not one model is right for every area in the County.

Rather than looking for a single provider to deliver a mobile programme to support communities in Braintree District to access a regular and reliable source of affordable food, we are looking to provide support for existing affordable food projects in the District, to enable them to develop and expand their offer, and increase the number of people who benefit.

If you are based in Rural Braintree, and you are thinking about setting up a programme in your community, or, if you are already involved in running a community based, affordable food programme, such as a community fridge, larder, pantry, community dining project, or local community meals project, get in touch and we will set up a meeting to go over the funding on offer.

 Get in touch with: -

 Benjamin Mann  - Benjamin.mann@essex.gov.uk, or

 Michael Graham – Michael.graham@braintree.gov.uk

By

23rd August 2024

13:49, 23 Jul 2024 by Claire Waters
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Essex Police Fire & Crime Commissioner

Have your say on what the Policing and Crime priorities and Fire and Rescue priorities should be for the next four years

Following his re-election in May, Roger Hirst, Police, Fire and Crime Commissioner for Essex, is now consulting on priorities to be included in his Police and Crime Plan 2024 and his Fire and Rescue Plan 2024.  The Fire and Rescue Plan sets the strategic direction and priorities for Essex County Fire and Rescue Service for the next four years.    

The Police and Crime Plan sets the priorities for policing and crime in the county and informs Essex Police priorities. Now, all people who live and work in Essex are being asked for their views on priorities for both plans by completing a short four-minute survey. The survey will run from today, Wednesday 17th July, until Sunday 1st September 2024, and can be accessed by clicking below.

Roger Hirst, PFCC for Essex, said: “I was honoured to be re-elected as Commissioner for another four years and hard work started immediately on building a new four year strategy for the future of policing and fire and rescue in Essex."

If you would like a hard copy of the survey please contact pfcc@essex.police.uk.
Survey

 

09:26, 22 Jul 2024 by Claire Waters
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Braintree District Council

Local Plan Review latest 


local plan review

The first phase of the Local Plan Review - the "Call for Sites" - has now taken place, where developers, landowners and others were invited to put forward suggested sites which might be suitable for development in the district.

We are now reviewing all the comments and site suggestions we received as part of this exercise. Every site is being assessed to determine whether they are suitable, available and achievable for development or designation within the updated Local Plan.

Share your views with us 

We are now launching our next round of engagement where you can share any ideas or suggestions of what you would like to be considered in the plan looking forward to 2041. 

This could include housing, employment, green spaces, transportation, infrastructure, community and education facilities, land you would like to see protected, or any other aspect of the community - in towns, surrounding villages and rural areas.

Your time to get involved

  • By email to planningpolicy@braintree.gov.uk

  • by post to: Planning Policy, Braintree District Council, Causeway House, Bocking End, Braintree, Essex CM7 9HB.

Next steps 

Comments will be considered by the council in preparing the draft Local Plan document ahead of further wider public consultation on the "Preferred Options" stage with residents, businesses and communities later this year, and further consultation in 2025. 

Keep updated

What's a Local Plan for?

We need a Local Plan to ensure future growth happens sustainably and development is properly planned.

The Local Plan serves as the strategic framework that guides where businesses and homes will be located, and protection of the green environment and heritage.

Our population is growing and people are living longer lives and therefore new homes and supporting infrastructure are needed in the Braintree district to support that growth. 

We have to make sure there are enough homes for young people, families and older residents. Having no growth is not an option, so the council creates the Local Plan to make sure development is properly planned. It’s not just about homes, but about creating jobs alongside new homes being built, infrastructure, open spaces, community facilities and protecting our environment.

Having a clear and up-to-date plan for managing growth makes sure the Braintree district remains a vibrant and attractive place to live, work, socialise and study.  

Why are you reviewing it?

The council’s current Local Plan is designed to run until 2033 but has to be reviewed and updated if necessary, at least every five years.

Braintree District Council adopted its current Local Plan in 2021 and must therefore start a review in order to complete it by 2025, submit to the planning inspectorate for examination in 2025 and adoption in 2026.

This review will take the plan up to 2041 from 2033. 

It’s a significant challenge to get a Local Plan prepared for submission by the current June deadline next year but it’s important that the Council keeps the plan up to date so that communities have certainty on where sustainable growth should happen, otherwise the Council will have less control when determining planning applications.

Current Local Plan timeline

Local Plan timeline

Keep updated on the Local Plan

We'll continue to share the latest Local Plan news and updates via this newsletter. 

You can also sign up to receive direct emails from our Planning team via our planning portal. 
12:46, 11 Jul 2024 by Claire Waters
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Braintree District Council

Voting in the General Election this Thursday 4 July - what you need to know

 
Braintree District Council
general election

General election - what you need to know

You will be able to vote for your MP for the Braintree and Witham constituencies this Thursday 4 July 2024 at polling stations across the district.

Polling station

Your poll card will tell you where your designated polling station is to vote on the day.

You can also find out by entering your postcode on our website.

Polling stations will be open from 7am-10pm.

Don't forget photo ID

photo id elections

Remember you need to bring photo ID with you in order to vote at a polling station on 4 July.

You will only need to show one form of photo ID. It needs to be the original version, and not a photocopy or a digital version.

View full list of accepted photo ID

Postal votes

polling station election

If you have chosen to vote by post but you've run out of time to send it back to us by mail, you can also:

  • drop off your postal vote at our offices at Causeway House, Bocking End in Braintree
  • or at any polling station operating in your parliamentary constituency area by 10pm on 4 July. 

When you return a postal vote pack by hand, you must fill in a form for the pack to be accepted. This is a new requirement, so please don't drop off your envelope and leave as you may have done in the past, or your vote won't count.

The rules have also recently changed on how many postal votes can be handed in by a single person. An individual can return their own postal vote and up to five additional postal votes at this election from family, friends or neighbours.

Candidates and campaigners are not allowed to collect or return postal votes on electors’ behalf.

If you have not received your postal vote or it is lost or damaged

If you have a lost or damaged postal vote or concerned you have not received yours yet, the deadline for a replacement is 5pm on polling day. You will need to contact us by emailing elections@braintree.gov.uk or calling 01376 552525 in advance about any possible replacements.

We know some postal voters are concerned they have not yet received their UK Parliamentary general election ballot pack.

The last batch of postal votes were issued first class on Wednesday 26 June for anyone who applied for a postal vote between 1 June and the 19 June deadline.

Delivery sits with Royal Mail but due to the short notice for the General Election on 4 July, they have been working at capacity to deliver an anticipated 10 million postal votes across the UK.

We will continue to do our best to help postal voters in the days leading up to the poll and will hand deliver to anyone who has contacted us and told us they have not received theirs yet. 

Emergency proxy vote

You can no longer apply for a proxy vote for the General Election on 4 July. The deadline was 5pm on Wednesday 26 June.

If you missed the deadline you may be able to apply for an emergency proxy vote.

You have until 5pm on the day of the election to apply.

Apply here

Parliamentary boundary changes

The parliamentary boundary changes have come into place following the Boundary Commission’s 2023 Review of Parliamentary Constituency Boundaries in England.

6 wards within our district will now come under the Witham parliamentary constituency at the general election, these being:

  •        Cressing
  •        Colne Engaine
  •        Earls Colne
  •        Pebmarsh
  •        Stisted
  •        White Colne

2 wards within our district will now come under the Braintree parliamentary constituency at the general election, these being:

  •        Black Notley
  •        Braintree (Hill House)

You can view what parliamentary constituency your ward falls in on the Boundary Commission website.

Candidates

You can find out the candidates standing in the General Election in the statement of persons nominated on our website:

You can visit the ‘Who Can I Vote For?’ website to find out more about candidates in your area.

Results

We'll share the Braintree and Witham constituencies results on our website, as well as our Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) channels.

If you have any questions that have not been covered in this email, take a look at our election page on our website, which have more information and contact details if you need to get in touch.
08:47, 02 Jul 2024 by Claire Waters
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