A Brightlingsea man has filed a blistering 4,000-word objection to plans for 30 homes on Vicarage Field, off Church Road, telling the council that the evidence for the allocation “doesn’t stand up to scrutiny.”
Mat Court posted his first of three planned representations against the Tendring Local Plan to the Spotted: Brightlingsea Facebook group on Wednesday, targeting a site known as MSA34 — a patch of green space near Strangers Corner that the district council wants to allocate for housing.
“The main issues I’ve raised around this potential loss of green space are,” Court wrote, before listing concerns that trace how a site once rejected for just two homes has landed in the plan with a 30-home target.
Court said two previous proposals — each for two homes — were refused and dismissed at appeal in 2024, with the Planning Inspector raising concerns about the Coastal Protection Belt and the setting of the Grade II listed Greythorpe nearby. By December 2025, Tendring District Council’s own assessment questioned whether even 18 homes could fit on the site, judging it “not suitable.” By August 2026, the SHLAA was listing it for 30.
“I have not been able to identify within the published evidence what that further assessment actually is,” Court said.
He also flagged that MSA34 was not consulted on during the Regulation 18 stage. “It was introduced afterwards as a new 30 home allocation. So Regulation 19 is the first formal public consultation on this particular proposal.”
The Regulation 19 consultation, which opened on Monday 7 September, closes at 5pm on Monday 19 October.
A plan to help others respond
Court told the group he will also submit representations on two other Brightlingsea sites — MSA35, north of Robinson Road, and MSA6, Pannell Place — and publish his findings as he works through them.
He also announced plans to build a simple website to make it easier for ordinary residents to understand the Local Plan and respond.
“Because, in my opinion, the current process is far too difficult for an ordinary resident to navigate,” he wrote. “You shouldn’t need to understand planning jargon, trawl through hundreds or thousands of pages of evidence and wrestle with awkward forms just to have your say on what happens to your town.”
Community response
The post drew 45 reactions and 29 comments on Facebook, with residents overwhelmingly backing Court’s work.
Claire Prowse thanked him for “the amazing work you do for Bsea and the time it takes to do.” Peter Driver called it a “brilliant piece of work” and said a 30-home development on the site “will be a scandal.”
Sue Marriott agreed: “It is shocking that they keep coming back to the same and totally inappropriate site.” Chester Copperpot was blunter: “Why are grade 2 buildings so damn flammable?”
Ben Calderwood asked how to submit his own response and was pointed to the council’s consultation portal. Court replied to every commenter, telling Peter Driver he had used “new tech AI tools to help analyse the literally tens of thousands of pages of evidence.”
“Not all heroes wear capes,” wrote Leon Stephens. “Though I have no idea if Mat Court does actually wear one or not.”
Court’s reply: “I’m not a hero but I do like crepes.”