GB-Colchester: Infrastructure Delivery Plans

1.1The North and Mid Essex area has seen significant growth in recent years and this is forecast to continue. The relevant local authorities and their partners wish to respond to this opportunity by planning positively for the area as a whole. Accordingly, Braintree District Council, Chelmsford City Council, Colchester Borough Council and Tendring District Council (the ‘Partner Authorities’) have agreed to work together to address strategic planning matters across their areas.

1.2The Partner Authorities are aligning the development of their local plans to cover growth to the period to 2033 and beyond with Chelmsford planning to 2036. For Braintree, Colchester and Tendring this includes preparation of a strategic Part 1 section that will be identical for each local plan. Part 1 will highlight the potential for cross-boundary Garden Communities which will begin to be delivered in the plan period once the process for delivering necessary infrastructure is in place. Part 2 of the Local Plans will set forth the allocations and policies required to deliver growth within authority boundaries to 2033 and 2036. Development of these plans is currently at the Issues and Options stage for Chelmsford and the Preferred Options stage for the other three authorities, with submission of plans for those authorities programmed for spring 2017 and 2018 respectively. •Braintree Preferred Options Local Plan •Chelmsford Issues and Options Local Plan •Colchester Preferred Options Local Plan •Tendring Preferred Options Local Plan

1.3The Partner Authorities wish to commission a single Consultant to produce an Infrastructure Delivery Plan (IDP) to support both the development of each Council’s Local Plan and delivery of their sustainable growth aspirations.

1.4Each Partner Authority will award their own contract, using the same contract template to the appointed Consultants to deliver the IDP. The finished report will cover all four authorities, with separate chapters on locally specific infrastructure requirements for each authority.

Additional information: The contracting authority considers that this contract may be suitable for economic operators that are small or medium enterprises (SMEs). However, any selection of tenderers will be based solely on the criteria set out for the procurement.