brentwood.gov.uk

I have taken time to read and understand the proposed development and I would like to express my opinion, objections and suggestions.

West Horndon is a small rural low density settlement surrounded by open countryside. I chose to move to West Horndon for this very reason, and I have chosen to stay in the village and raise my family here for the exact same reason.

I have lived in West Horndon for a very long time so have seen the village develop and evolve, yet it retains its low density rural character due to the fact that all the developments to date have been scaled and proportional.

I am in favour of a degree of development provided it is proportional to the size of the current village and does not detract from overall character of the village, its rural status, its culture and its small village feel.

I am keen to see improvements to infrastructure of the village and acceptant that a degree of scaled development may be required to facilitate this.

I am wholeheartedly opposed to the development plan that has been proposed to date as I feel it is wholly disproportional and would swamp the current village and change its character completely.

My objections to the proposed development:
Impact to me, my family and environment of building work during development - clearly there would be significant increase in plant traffic, noise, dirt, dust, and air pollution whilst the development work is being conducted which I feel would disrupt our daily lives to an unacceptable level.

Impact to the village status, community, culture and feel once development is complete - the proposed development would almost treble the size of West Horndon which I believe will be significantly harmful to the character of the village, its community, and the overall 'small village' feel which I value highly.

Potential impact to the value of my property - a considerable part of the value of my property is due to the fact it is located in a small, sleepy rural village surrounded by open land and with a healthy sense of community. Exclusivity is also a factor as is the value of comparable properties with the surrounding area all of which are likely to be diminished by the proposed development.

Increased risk of flooding at my property, West Horndon as a whole and the surrounding area - West Horndon has to my knowledge flooded three times in the last 60 years, the most recent of which was in 2012 and this was despite significant drainage improvements made following the previous flooding in 1981. West Horndon and Bulphan are recognised by the Environment agency as being a flood risk. My property in Freshwell Gardens is located at the edge of the village and suffers with localised flooding in the grounds every year. As a result in the continued deterioration of the drainage for the fields and railway embankment surrounding my property, this localised flooding has over the last few years become progressively worse resulting in an ongoing rising damp issue in my house. Clearly any further development within the West Horndon area will once again reduce the natural drainage raising the water table in areas on the outside of the village such as my property. Even if flood alleviation measures are taken as part of the proposed development it will simply move the problem to surrounding areas such as Bulphan.

Impact to roads and junctions with regard to both safety and convenience - current traffic levels mean that for considerable periods of each day the junctions and roads in and around the village are congested and difficult to negotiate. For example, between 07.45 and 09.15 exiting West Horndon via the A128 and A127 takes on average 15 minutes longer than times when there are lower traffic levels. There are already a considerable number of collisions and incidents at the junctions and roads in and around the village each month. The scale of the proposed development will clearly result in a significant increase in traffic compounding the congestion and safety concerns way beyond practical or acceptable levels. The roads and junctions in and around West Horndon are simply inadequate to cope with any further increase in traffic.

Impact to Green Belt land - I firmly believe in the fundamental principal of the Green Belt and I do not feel that 'housing demand' constitutes the 'exceptional circumstances' justified to build upon land that has been set aside to prevent exactly this type of urban sprawl. The proposed development will also destroy land habited by a wide variety of wildlife which I feel is unacceptable.

Impact to the security of the village - currently incidents of violence, vandalism, public order offences and other such crimes in West Horndon are isolated and minimal. Increasing the population of West Horndon by the numbers proposed in the development plan would inevitably see a proportional increase in such issues. Currently residents feel safe on the streets and secure in their houses, but I feel trebling the size of the village would destroy this feeling. Every couple of years West Horndon suffers with small groups of teenagers congregating and exhibiting antisocial behavior as there is nowhere for them to go and nothing for them to do. These groups are traditionally circa 5 to 7 youths and is therefore relatively easy to manage. An increase in housing to the scale proposed would likely result in a significant increase in such troublesome groups that would be much harder to police and would be harmful to me, my family and the other residents of the village.

In addition to my objections to the proposed development, I have the following concerns regarding inadequacies of the process employed by the local planning authority to date:

I do not feel that my family and I have been effectively consulted on the proposal. We have not had any meaningful proactive engagement on the subject and I do not feel we have been allowed to be involved in the development of the local plans or planning decisions.

The proposal does not include detail anything that will benefit the me, my family or the village as a whole. For example the proposal simply states that a 'infrastructure delivery plan is forthcoming' rather than including any detail of such plans.

The proposal does not detail anything that will mitigate against the harmful impacts of the development.

The proposal does not demonstrate that due consideration has been given to the quality and capability of the infrastructure, water supply, sewage, wastewater and its treatment, energy (including heat), telecommunications, utilities, waste, health, social care, education, flood risk and ability to meet forecast demands.

My suggestions for the development of West Horndon:
I am in favour of proportional, scaled and mixed use development as part of the mutually agreed evolution of West Horndon.

I believe West Horndon would be able to take up to a maximum of 200 new residential properties by redeveloping the currently underutilised industrial areas. This would mean the development would not encroach upon Green Belt land and would be of a scale that would not destroy the rural low density village feel of West Horndon.

Within this development I would like to see an increase in sheltered accommodation and care home facilities for the aged and infirmed. I would also like to see a mixture of affordable, mid-price and high value residential properties and both rationalization and modernisation of the industrial units that remain.

To facilitate this additional housing the village would require the long overdue improvements to the current infrastructure ie, flood protection/drainage, bus links, road junctions, broadband speeds, policing, facilities for the youth (including a small skate-park and a new Scout HQ) and utilities.