BASILDON councillors have issued a formal invitation to residents of the borough - inviting them to join a focus group set up to discuss the development of a new Local Plan.

The invitation was made in the form of a letter sent out to representatives from a number of local community groups, and now published for all residents to view and participate.

Local councils have to produce a Local Plan by law and the plan must cover a period of at least 15 years. As such, it is vital that development in the borough is well thought out - taking into consideration multiple points of view.

Cllr Richard Moore, Basildon Council's Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure, said: "We continue to listen to you as we develop a new Local Plan for Basildon. This new focus group will meet throughout the process of developing the Local Plan to discuss key elements in detail and seek your views and opinions.

"If you would be interested in joining our focus group in shaping the Basildon Borough Local Plan, we would be delighted to hear from you."

The full letter is below:

Dear Resident,

Basildon Council is currently developing its new Local Plan, and as part of this process would like to invite residents of the borough to take an active role in its formation.

A Local Plan is a document that sets out how development including housing, business construction and infrastructure (roads, schools, health facilities, etc.) can best benefit the area the council is responsible for. Targets for development are set nationally by Government and the Local Plan is the approach by how those targets can best be met for a specific area taking into consideration the needs of the local population and the priorities for the area.

Local councils have to produce a Local Plan by law and they have to cover a period of at least 15 years. We want to make sure development in our area is well thought out and that our Local Plan works in the best way for the area.

We would like to invite all those who have an interest in the development of the Local Plan to have a say and ensure that their views are heard. As part of this, we will be setting up a resident focus group and convening meetings through the process of developing the Local Plan as appropriate to discuss in detail elements of the plan and seek views and opinions.

If you would be interested in joining our focus group in shaping the Basildon Borough Local Plan, we would be delighted to hear from you. We will hold a meeting next month go into more detail about the importance of the local plan for the borough, the current position and next steps and discuss the role of the focus group going forward. Please email [email protected]

Cllr Richard Moore

Cabinet Member for Strategic Planning and Infrastructure