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Colchester City Conservatives Claim Victory over Lib-Dem & Labour's New Town Plan at Marks Tey |
Colchester City Conservatives are very pleased to confirm that the City Council has withdrawn an "expression of interest" in a proposal for a huge new town at Marks Tey.
The plans were discovered via a Freedom of Information (FOI) request which revealed the Council had submitted the "expression of interest" to the Labour Government in late 2024 without telling Councillors, or the Local Plan Committee (which oversees long term planning) or brought the proposal before the Council’s ruling Cabinet.
Furthermore in the submission to Government, the City Council had claimed support from Essex County Council, which, it transpired, was not true.
Cllr Paul Dundas, Ward Councillor for Tiptree and Leader of the Conservative Group on the City Council said “I would like to thank all those for their work both behind the scenes and publicly on this - in particular Cllrs Andrew Ellis and Cllr William Sunnucks but also Cllr Kevin Bentley, who as leader of Essex County Council demanded the document be withdrawn as it was factually incorrect in relation to claiming ECC’s support”
“It is wholly unacceptable that decisions like this happen behind closed doors and I welcome the City Council’s change of mind. After the appalling decision of the Labour Government to cancel the long term plans to upgrade the A12 I cannot see how any sort of New Town at Marks Tey could ever be remotely viable.”
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“We recognise the need for new housing for local people, but this must be done in a sensible, sustainable way and with the appropriate infrastructure which does not bring misery to existing residents."
It must also be done in a democratic way with full engagement from all Councillors and the public, not in secret. The idea of a Marks Tey New Town was found unsound by a Government Planning Inspector just a few years ago, after the City Council wasted millions of pounds of tax payers’ money on the proposal. I can’t believe anyone thought it was a good idea to try it again.
Conservatives believe in open, transparent government, not the shambles of secret decision-making as witnessed in the Marks Tey New Town debacle.
2025-08-28
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