AS we approach May s election, control of Colchester Council is teetering on a knife-edge. The town hall is controlled by a coalition of Labour and the Lib Dems, who together hold 24 seats. There are 51 seats in the borough, meaning the coalition is technically a minority administration. The Highwoods Independents were part of what was then called the rainbow alliance , but 18 months ago they packed their bags. Support is now on a vote by vote basis, meaning there are some crunch votes on contentious issues. The Conservative Group are the largest group on the council, holding 21 seats. In May they need to secure an additional five, as well as hold all of their existing ones, to hold an overall majority.
The new town will eventually have 9,000 homes, with section one of the planning setting out the strategic direction for housing growth in the area through to 2033. In order for the plan to be adopted, planning consent and funding approval for the new A120 to A133 link road and the so-called Rapid Transit System must be secured before any development forming part of the garden community gets planning approval. In his letter confirming the first section of the plan can be adopted, Mr Clews also confirmed the authority’s housing targets were accurate. This means Colchester needs to be 920 homes each year until 2033, Braintree 716 and Tendring 550.