brentwood.gov.uk

Dear Sir/Madame
I am a resident of Hulletts Lane and I have a strong concern regarding the Lane itself, the pot holes have become so bad that in the past three weeks I have had to buy two new tyres for my car and my partner struggles to push our baby up the lane in his buggy as it has become so bad. There is a large field in front of us which was covered with trees and bushes but around 80% of the trees and bushes have been taken down in this green belt which also joins the Ongar road. This filed is like a swomp and I beleive that the rain water is not being soaked up by the trees as much as it use too and is causing the lane to become extremely dangerous as the rain water sits in the pot holes which then makes them worse and the lane becomes like a stream.
I have attached a few photos I took when it was raining and I was driving down the lane, this shows how the lane becomes like a stream and the feild opposite is like a swomp. Also the noise from the Ongar road has become much louder now the trees have been taken down. Even though we have had a few weeks of lovely weather it is still like a swonp and the lane is in a terrible condition.
I am just concerned that if this is what it is like now, if there is any more traffic coming in down the lane from any potenetial future developments or more trees taken down it will become impossible to live here.
Kind Regards
Christopher Andrews

COMMENT ON THE STRATEGIC GROWTH OPTIONS CONSULTATION 2015

From: Christopher Andrews
Sent: 09 February 2015 11:38
To: Planning Policy
Subject: Strategic Growth Option. Hulletts Lane Pilgrims Hatch


Christopher Andrews
Leanne Game

Please see below my comments and objections to the recent proposals by Brentwood council for the stragatic growth option, in Pilgrims Hatch sites 011A, 011B, 011C and 0176.

I am a resident in Hulletts lane, I moved here for the tranquility and beautiful landscapes that surround us with historical grade II listed buildings, this has always been an area for peoples enjoyment, from the well known groups that go on walks down Hulletts lane through the fields which is an accient walk (shown on your website for popular walks), to dog walkers being able to enjoy the wonderful landscapes, bike riders who have somewhere to ride safely off road and the horse riders of the local farms who can enjoy the amazing green belt land.

On your website you explain all about "the history of the walks which Pilgrims took for centeries as they made there way from Canterbury from the North which is described as the Clockwise Walk", with all the "ancient trees which have been pollardeds or coppiced over hundreds of years", passing Hulletts Farm and Gents Farm which are the grade II listed buildings, Vine cottages where the Andrews sisters lived who served the local manor house. Do these local trees have a TPO to them as they should do being so old and historical.

There are Bats, great crested newts and badgers everywhere in this land due to the old buildings and green belt land which are seen to be protected species and part of the contry environment. Has a dawn to dust survey been carried out? Has a archaelological surevey been carried out? Has an ecological survey been carried out? Is there any contamination in the ground from old foundations etc or a soil survey been done? I beleieve there could be Japanese knotweed and random Gases, which is an issue.

Your website also states "keep an eye out for birds darting in and out, in the summer you should see plenty of insects including butterflies that will feed on the flowering plants that grow at the field edge". I have seen some of the most beautiful birds in the fields which I have never seen anywhere before and this is all down to the open area green belt land. A development on this green belt land would not satisfy the environments requirements with the wildlife or historical values and ruin this beautiful open area that I am so passionate about. This is an area which has special character to it with all the listed buildings and I feel it should be preserved for the futures history.

A building development would be the greatest threat for this green belt area and being so close to two grade II listed buildings which are limited to find in such amazing areas, there are much more suitable areas near by to develop which will not effect the historical land, properties and are not in a green belt area. I am also so concerned that we will be highly looked over.

The definition of green belt is a policy for controlling urban growth, the policy is to protect the land around larger urban centres from urban sprawl, it helps protect agricultural activities and the unique character of rural communities, it is defined as an open space. This defination shows that it is green belt for a reason, to keep as much open space as we can and to protect it from any future development.

The defination of Grade II listed buildings is a building that has been placed on a statutory list of buildings with special architectual or historical interest. There are two grade II listed buildings which are in between the proposed development Gents Farm and Hulletts Farm, for some reason Hulletts Farm is not shown on all the maps.

Access is a huge issue, Hulletts lane is a bridal path/ foot path which is extremly small and would not be able to cope with any more traffic in and out due to the small access, it is extremely dangerous as a fire engine or ambulance would not be able to drive in and be able to turn around which is needed for any new build houses. This lane (Hulletts Lane) is the lane/bridal path where the walkers, bike riders, horse riders etc come down and it would be too dangerous if there was to be any more traffic due to it being so small.

For us as residents of Hulletts Lane, including 1 and 2 Vine Cottages, The Cottage, Gents Farm, Cedars, Fiesta and more do not want this development, we also find that it is already really dangerous to pull out onto the Ongar road as the traffic at the point where we pull out slows down from the national speed limit to 30mph and no one keeps to this speed making it so harder and dangerous to pull out, its difficult to get clear visibility from left to right when we pull out onto the Ongar road which makes access a nightmare as it is already. Also with the two round abouts at the top of Hulletts lane and Orchid lane causes congestion and I see traffic development becoming a major issue if there was added development leading to added cars, every property has on average two cars each which would cause over congestion.

Unfortunatly the home owner of The Cedars in Hulletts Lane is in Hopsital after suffering a stroke and I am unsure if she has any family to object this development but as a keen bird lover I know she would not want this deveopment to happen, she worked in the South Weald museum which has artifacts of wildlife in the area and having known her for a few years I know she loved being in her garden and would feel very strongly about objecting this future development.

Floods are an issue in this land as it is low level, in extreme rain Hulletts Lane becomes a stream with all the rain water running down to a drain outside of "The Cottage" which is not large enough to carry the water away properly, the one advantage we have is we are surrounded by trees which soak up a great deal of this rain water and if they were to be taken down would cause extreme major flood risk. The land has a lot of clay in it which doesnt help with the flood issues, clay has a high plasticity and is highly shrinkable which can cause a problem, particularly if combined with trees. Trees take a vast amount of moisture from the subsoil and clay has a propensity to increase in volume when it is wet, if a tree is removed or damaged then it will increase to take moisture from the subsoil and the dry dry clay will take on that moisture and expand, this causes a problme known as heave where the ground will rise to the detriment of any foundations. I also beleieve there is a natural spring in plot 0176 which is also adds to the high water level in this low land as with out the trees near by would certainly cause issues.

This land has already been objected to planning years ago when there was a planning application put in for the green belt fields surrounding Hulletts lane.

Thank you for this opportunity to express our feelings on this proposed option and I hope you can appreciate our concern for this area and I look forward to hearing from you in the near future.

Could I ask that you could be kind enough to email me back to acknowledge my email has sent to the correct address.

KInd Regards