brentwood.gov.uk

Brentwood has identified an objectively assessed need for housing of at least 330 homes per year. The town of Brentwood is one of the most expensive towns for housing in Essex so there is an urgent need for affordable housing especially for key workers such as nurses and teachers. Almost all its heath care facilities and secondary schools are to be found along the A12 corridor so it is there that the main need arises. Furthermore it is the A12 corridor that is receiving the benefit of transport infrastructure investment such as Crossrail and A12 widening.

In contrast the A127 has very little social infrastructure provided by Brentwood and there are no plans for secondary schools near the A127 in Brentwood. The council claims that the A127 has a better potential for infrastructure improvements but the reality is that there are no funds designated for the purpose and with the present need for austerity it is highly unlikely that any improvements in capacity for the A127 or the nearby rail tracks can be funded for completion within the timescale of this local plan. The emerging local plans of Basildon will already place enormous extra strain on the infrastructure along the A127 no prospect of the necessary widening of the A127. Planning policy requires that adequate infrastructure funding for the next five years must be found before development can proceed. This will not be possible for the A127 corridor.

Transport links between the A127 corridor and the A12 corridor are especially constrained. The only rail links require travelling via Upminster and Romford or Southend with changes between different lines. By road the choice is between the A128, the M25, routes through Billericay or the A130. The M25 and A130 are high quality roads but they often suffer congestions and are considered a long way round. The A128 takes traffic through Ingrave, Herongate and then Brentwood itself. These areas are already congested and the A128 is not a high quality road. Options through Billericay also pass through towns and villages and even use single track roads for quickest travel to places such as Ingatestone. It is therefore hopeless to think that people living near West Horndon or Dunton can conveniently travel to the A12 corridor for work or school.

In the light of these constraints on travel it is completely wrong to try to meet Brentwood's housing need by building most of its new housing South of the A127. It is absolutely certain that when this plan is submitted to the planning expectorate it will be rejected as unsound for this reason. This will require Brentwood to rewrite its plan with much more housing concentrated along the A12 and there will be a need for new regulation 18 consultations. There could be a delay of two years to prepare a new plan during which time Brentwood will be subject to government intervention and or developers able to submit applications anywhere they wish. Brentwood will be unable to defend against this especially in light of its precarious financial situation which will be made worse by the loss of revenue from the New Homes Bonus. In short Brentwood's plan to build south of the A127 instead of along the A12 corridor will be an unmitigated disaster for the Borough. Brentwood council has betrayed the trust of its residents with this horrendous Local Plan which completely fails to meet its housing needs along the A12.