Stanstead Abbotts and St Margarets Neighbourhood Plan: The Final Steps and Why Your Vote Matters
Published on 25th March 2025
You may be aware that, as part of the preparation of the Stanstead Abbotts and St Margarets Neighbourhood Plan, there was a call for sites to enable the target of 94 homes to be met.
Webster Estates had already applied for planning permission for their brownfield site to be redeveloped (20 open market houses and some adjacent commercial space) and it was suggested that a total of 60 houses on the brownfield land and the adjacent green belt would go a long way to getting towards that magic number of 94 homes.
Incredibly, this all originated in 2018. The last public consultation ended on 14 March 2025 and the Draft Plan is now under examination, with a referendum held in the local area taking place thereafter.
Importantly, once the referendum happens and votes are counted, if more than 50% vote in favour of the Plan then it gets adopted. Like the way our vision for the development has changed over time, the Draft Neighbourhood Plan has also changed after taking into account input from various stakeholders and residents. It has been a huge piece of work to prepare and assemble.
The general worry is that if residents don’t go out and vote and the support for the Plan falls below 50%, that would trigger endless speculative development proposals with housing numbers potentially way in excess of the 94 envisaged. This would put a huge strain on infrastructure and local facilities/services.
We are keen to see our landscape-led development delivered, which would importantly include affordable housing. We have signed a legal agreement with the Parish Council so that no more than 60 homes would be build on the land if the Neighbourhood Plan is approved and adopted. This will enable us to the make good use of landscape areas and provide really attractive, well-designed homes in a semi-rural setting.
The Draft Neighbourhood Plan can be viewed here >
The date for the referendum is not yet agreed, we expect the Neighbourhood Plan will soon be under examination. We will update when it’s available so you can pop it in your diary!