brentwood.gov.uk

I feel that the Local Development Plan proposed for West Horndon (CP4) is unachievable. The larger proportion of the housing allocation in CP4 is on land proposed by Brentwood Council is part of the Metropolitan Green Belt. The Metropolitan Green belt was put in place to prevent the merging of neighbouring areas, which in the case of West Horndon are Greater London and Thurrock. The National Planning Policy Framework states that: "The Government attaches great importance to Green Belts. The fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness and their permanence."

The land proposed for development in CP4 has been identified as an area at risk of flooding on the Environment Agency Website. The village has flooded in 1958, 1981 and 2012. Any building within an area at risk of flooding will increase the water table, thus increasing the risk of flooding. If a flood alleviation scheme is put in place this will simply move the water to South of the Railway towards the village of Bulphan. There is no evidence of Brentwood Borough Council carrying out any assessment of drainage within West Horndon or Bulphan.

The infrastructure of the village is already at breaking point, with access onto the A127 and into Brentwood along with A128 at rush hour, regularly near impossible. The additional traffic from the extra housing will further add delays and problems to these roads. The train station is also at capacity with there often being no available seating once trains reach West Horndon. C2C have stated they have no plans to increase the frequency of trains or the number of carriages on each train. There is no evidence within the LDP that the infrastructure has been considered.

Although I am not opposed to some development within West Horndon, I feel that the number of houses proposed will destroy the village and create a unsustainable development with insufficient infrastructure, health care and education facilities. The doctor's surgery is currently at capacity as is the primary school. The proposed delevopment does not include any provision for additional health care or educational facilities. The National Planning policy states that the community should be involved in all aspects of planning decisions. With regard to Brentwood council's proposed LDP there has been no engagement with either West Horndon Parish council or the community other than the Roadshow which happened after the proposed LDP was announced.

In conclusion, I feel that with regard to CP4 of the LDP, Brentwood Council's plans are deeply flawed. The decision to place 1000 houses on land which is in risk of flooding is bordering on the insane. This land is also protected as part of the Metropolitan Green Belt which should be protected at all costs. There are limited resources within the village and there is no evidence within the LDP that these are likely to be improved, despite the proposed increase in population. The infrastructure of the village is currently under huge strain with regular delays into Brentwood and along the A127 at peak times and the train station and service will not be improved. It is clear that Brentwood Council's proposal for increasing housing on this site is not sensible or well thought out.