HEARINGS into Maldon District Council's long-delayed Local Development plan have begun.

Inspector Simon Berkeley is hearing evidence surrounding the plan.

Hearings will be taking place at the Three Rivers Golf and Country Club, Stow Road, Cold Norton until January 19.

Other matters to be discussed include the council’s five year land supply, employment, retail and transport and access.

Following the hearings he will produce a report which will be sent to the secretary of state. 

Previous inspector David Vickery stopped examination of the plan in May 2014 due to the lack of traveller sites provided.

The decision was overturned last March after Maldon District Council called in the decision to the government.

But the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government agreed with Mr Vickery that there were insufficient traveller sites proposed.

At the opening on Tuesday morning Maldon District Council CEO Fiona Marshall said: "I welcome you and the participants to this Examination Hearing, to what the Council hopes will be a productive two weeks that will move us towards the adoption of the Maldon Local Development Plan.

"As you are aware, the Examination Hearing was initially opened in January 2015 and the Inspector reported that Policy H6 in relation to Travellers Provision was unsound, and by extension, the Plan as a whole was unsound.

"Following this, the Council contacted Secretary of State to request that he intervene, to which he acknowledged the concerns raised by the Council and agreed to test whether the inspector has reached a proportionate and balanced view on the Plan as a whole, in light of national planning policy. He subsequently issued a direction that the Maldon Local Development Plan be submitted to him for approval.

"Since then, the Council has sought to resolve the issues raised by the previous Inspector and today marks the resumption and the next step to the Plan’s adoption."

A number of modifications to the plan were published last year and a consultation heard. 

Ms Marshall added: "We recognise that it is vital that the Council continues to take a planned approach towards housing delivery which will bring forward much needed infrastructure investment into our District. We have clearly demonstrated our commitment to delivery and worked with developers to bring forward planned sites for development. Applications for 8 of our strategic sites have now been approved by the Council.

"The Council has continued to defend the District from what we regard as inappropriate development that sits outside of our draft plan. The number of appeals that we have had to contest is testament to this, but also to the uncertainty of not having an up to date plan.

"The Council has not stood still and we remain thoroughly committed to working to adopting the Maldon Local Development Plan this year."