brentwood.gov.uk

To whom it may concern,

Firstly, thank you for giving the community the opportunity to find out about and comment on the council's plans for our town. I think it would be useful for residents to have a summarised version as at over 200 pages long it is more than most people are going to be willing to peruse. I have done my best to read as much as I can in one evening and shall comment on the points I consider most important. I welcome the drop in events being held and I hope to attend. I am one of the unfortunate residents who has missed the boat when it comes to buying a property in Brentwood, and possibly even Essex. I grew up in Brentwood as have many generations of my family before me.

With the exception of the land off Doddinghurst Road on either side of the A12, I agree to the proposals for the building of more properties. I think the land by Doddinghurst Road would be better used to provide a slip road giving access to the A12 at that point. It would reduce the traffic heading through Brentwood town centre and possibly open up opportunities to build dwellings in Pilgrims Hatch and further north in the borough without impacting so much on traffic through the town. I expect this would not be a popular suggestion if it is even possible!

Your plan doesn't make the definition of the term "intermediate" clear. Would this be "affordable" properties such as shared ownership and Help to Buy? A household of two people earning the average wage of £26,500 (perhaps teachers or nurses) with two dependants under 18 could perhaps borrow £225,000. Will there be family homes which would be affordable to that kind of family? I recently called Help to Buy East and South East to get an indication of the value of the property my husband and I could purchase using the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme. I was told we could buy a property in the region of £210,000 which was disappointing given that we would require a family sized home and for that in Essex the minimum cost would be around £260-270k for a new build. Given that Brentwood has very high house prices compared to other towns in Essex I am concerned that "affordable" homes will still be out of the reach of many of the town's residents, including ourselves. I was very excited when I first heard of the Government's new Starter Homes scheme, however when I realised that the scheme had a long way to go before being finalised and available for use I was very disappointed, as my husband will have passed the cut off age of 40 by that time. Maybe it may be an option for my children to purchase a home in 15 years or so!

I don't think the 35% minimum of affordable housing goes far enough given that that will include social housing. At the end of 2012 there were around 1000 people on the social housing waiting list. The plan is for a little over 5000 new homes, so around 20% should be for social housing. This leaves only 15% for "affordable" homes. I expect the 35% also includes the sheltered housing that will need to be replaced. I understand that the developers want to maximise their profits and I'm sure if all the properties build were sold at market value they would sell with no problems, however this wouldn't be right for the community. Another thing that is very important for me is that the more affordable properties (if not all properties) are offered to people with a strong local connection first, but I from what I have read something is in place to ensure this happens. I know many people are moving out from London as the city becomes even more affordable and it would be pretty galling if these families were snapping up our "affordable" homes.

I also think that the ratio of 1,2,3 and 4 properties should be reconsidered. Given that families on the waiting list for social housing are waiting longer for 3 bedroom properties than for smaller ones it makes me think the need for larger properties is high.

I recently enquired about the homes to be built on the old Warley Adult College site and the developer informed me that the flats would not be eligible for the scheme and there was no guarantee that the houses would be part of the scheme either. This is because according to them the terms of Right to Buy state that there must be no longer than 6 months between reservation and completion. Do you think this could be an issue with providing other Help to Buy homes in the proposed developments? How could this be prevented?

I am intrigued by the 5% self build allocation on larger developments. How would somebody get involved with that? Would you be looking for people to set up a Community Land Trust?

There isn't a huge amount of detail said in the draft plan regarding the William Hunter Way improvements. I agree with the general consensus that a cinema would be a great asset to the community and should be built on the site. My main concern would be how to provide enough parking to replace the spaces lost by the building. Would there be underground parking or perhaps rooftop parking similar to The Brewery in Romford? If Lidl is to go ahead with opening a store at Wates Way then perhaps another supermarket on the William Hunter Way site would not be necessary.

I was recently searching for part time office based job in Brentwood, which was not that easy due to the lack of jobs being advertised. Any opportunity to create more jobs in the town and reduce the need for commuting can surely only be a good thing.

That is all the feedback I have for now. I hope that you can address my concerns.