ST JOHN'S
SAYS NO

Welcome to the campaign home page. For any and all information about the St John's Residents Association's campaign to prevent the development on St John's fields, see below.

FIND OUT MORE

Colchester City Council have allocated our fields (known as PP9) for 2000 homes to be built - under pressure from arbitrary government set housing targets. These homes won't help families in need as only a small minority will be affordable, and will mostly be executive homes. Concreting over these fields will kill off Bullock Wood, which relies on the special drainage of the fields to survive. The wood has survived for 800 years and is protected as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSi). Our wildlife corridor will be destroyed and the landscape, which many of you enjoy recreationally will change forever. Our roads are already congested, and the council has not secured funding for the infrastructure its own reports say is needed.

This is our final chance to get our fields removed from the Local Plan and we need every resident to play their part. We are now in a final public consultation and we need you to spare a small amount of time to submit your views. This guidance will take you step by step through the Council’s online portal so your voice can be heard.

We have again commissioned Carpenter Planning to submit a formal report on our behalf to evidence that the plan for our fields (PP9) has too many unanswered questions and is therefore "unsound". We will need to keep fundraising to pay for this - so please support our Barn Dance in November (see News & Events for more info) or you can donate on our GoFundMe via the link below.

HOW TO OBJECT

COUNCIL PORTAL

DONATE

COMMUNITY DAY OF ACTION

Saturday 18th April

14:00

St John's Fields

£10 per person

We’re bringing the St John’s community together at St John’s Fields to stand united in support of our local countryside.

At 2:00pm, we’ll form a human chain along the public footpaths - stretching from near Bullace Close, up into the fields, and along the edge towards the road - creating a powerful visual message of community strength and local pride.

This is a family-friendly event, and children can take part in a fun scavenger hunt around the fields, with a bag of sweets for everyone who completes the challenge.

Come along, bring friends and neighbours, and help us show just how much these fields mean to our community.

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WIMBLEDON BINGO NIGHT

17th July 2026

£10 per person

19:00

St John's Community Hall

Join us for another fun fundraising event at St John's Community Hall (next to St John's Church). This time we'll be doing a Wimbledon themed bingo night! Please bring your own nibbles and drinks.

To request tickets please email stjohnsfieldsra@gmail.com stating how many tickets you require. Children are welcome. Fancy dress is optional.

REQUEST A TICKET

LOCAL PLAN COMMITTEE MEETING

11th February 2026

17:45

Town Hall, Colchester High Street

This meeting has been brought forward and a summary of the responses and a "revised" plan will be presented to the Local Plan committee. They will be voting to either progress the plan to the next stage (Section 19) or will vote against and require further work be undertaken by the planning department. This is anticpated to be a close vote, considering the upcoming elections in May. We will be making representations during the "Have Your Say" section and pushing for delay but we need as many local residents to be there to show the Local Plan Committee the depth of feeling of St Johns Residents. If you can come please be outside the Town Hall on Colchester High Street at 17:45.

CONSULTATION PORTAL

RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

The council's public consultation is now open for your input, click the buttons below for the consultation portal (left button) and our instructions page for more help (right button). The consultation closes on the 14th of January 2026, so get your comments heard before it's too late!

CONSULTATION PORTAL

RESPONSE INSTRUCTIONS

PUBLIC CONSULTATION NOW OPEN!

CAMPAIGN UPDATE

Thanks to your ongoing support our professional report to Colchester City Council has resulted in a number of conditions being added to our fields (for example the buffer round Bullock Wood was originally 15m and is now a minimum of 50m) which makes it less appetising for developers to build on. The pressure on the planning department is working but we must keep up the momentum.

We have two aims:

1) To get PP9 (St John's and Welshwood fields) completely removed from the Local Plan.

2) If that is not possible to place as many conditions and restrictions on the site to make it unviable for a developer.

If you missed the AGM, please see the minutes linked via the button below. We are commissioning a new report to further object in Regulation 19, so we would also be incredibly grateful for any further donations.

AGM MINUTES

DONATE

UP TO 2000 HOUSES

Every five years, councils must publish a Local Plan – deciding where thousands of new homes will be built.

Colchester City Council invited landowners to put forward sites (Call for Sites) for potential development. At first, the arable fields around St John’s (near Bullock Wood) and Welshwood Park were not considered. But due to pressure from successful campaigns elsewhere in the city, these fields are now at risk.

Planners have admitted there will be a housing shortfall from 2026, and our councillors have warned that unless we act, our green fields could be allocated for up to 2,000 houses.

Colchester City Council invited landowners to put forward sites (Call for Sites) for potential development. At first, the arable fields around St John’s (near Bullock Wood) and Welshwood Park were not considered. But due to pressure from successful campaigns elsewhere in the city, these fields are now at risk.

Planners have admitted there will be a housing shortfall from 2026, and our councillors have warned that unless we act, our green fields could be allocated for up to 2,000 houses.

Every five years, councils must publish a Local Plan – deciding where thousands of new homes will be built.

Colchester City Council invited landowners to put forward sites (Call for Sites) for potential development. At first, the arable fields around St John’s (near Bullock Wood) and Welshwood Park were not considered. But due to pressure from successful campaigns elsewhere in the city, these fields are now at risk.

Planners have admitted there will be a housing shortfall from 2026, and our councillors have warned that unless we act, our green fields could be allocated for up to 2,000 houses.