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Horizon Scanning Log

13 June 2026

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• Tendring Local Plan: 300-home Samsons Road site (SAH4) likely to be dropped

Tendring District Council’s planning committee has proposed removing the SAH4 site (up to 300 homes off Samsons Road) due to landscape sensitivity and single-road access. Five smaller alternative sites, including the former Well House site, totalling approximately 90 homes, are favoured.

• Brightlingsea Town Council appoints new mayor for 2026-27

Ric Morgan has been appointed Brightlingsea Town Council mayor for 2026-27, with Kate Mitchell as deputy mayor. Morgan succeeds Cllr Jayne Chapman BEM.

• New CCTV released in Vitória Barreto disappearance linked to Brightlingsea boatyard

New CCTV footage shows missing person Vitória Barreto jumping a boatyard fence on the day she disappeared. A boat was later found unmoored and adrift; a lifebuoy from the vessel was recovered. Investigation ongoing.

• Brightlingsea man Joseph Dines sentenced for drugs offences

Brightlingsea resident Joseph Dines, previously handed a suspended sentence for indecent images of children, has now been sentenced for cannabis cultivation and drug dealing.

• Fox's Yacht Sales joins Brightlingsea's Morgans Group

Ipswich-based Fox's Yacht Sales has become part of Brightlingsea maritime firm Morgans Group.

• Brightlingsea Lido reopens for the season

Brightlingsea's open-air Lido has reopened for the Bank Holiday weekend and the summer season.

• Neighbours' Alan Fletcher to perform at Brightlingsea festival

Actor and musician Alan Fletcher, known for Neighbours, and his five-piece band are scheduled to perform on Hurst Green as part of a Brightlingsea town festival.