brentwood.gov.uk

The planned developments (site references 75 and 76) in Blackmore will have a severely detrimental effect on this quaint English village and will change its character forever. The infrastructure of Blackmore and its surrounding area cannot support the planned increase in population (c.a. 33% increase in Blackmore alone) and the areas earmarked for development are greenbelt. Building on greenbelt sets a dangerous precedent for our beautiful countryside and is frankly unnecessary due to the number of brownfield options available.
Roads
The roads both servicing the village, and within the village itself, are barely satisfactory now and would become dangerous based on a conservative estimated increase of 5,000 car journeys per week by the proposed new inhabitants. The effect of the heavy goods traffic required to build the new development is unthinkable.
Shop
The village shop is small and would struggle to service the additional population.
Health Service
It is difficult to get an appointment at the local GP surgery due to the existing demand. A further 400 people using the service could actually present a danger to people's lives and wellbeing.
Schools
Blackmore school is heavily subscribed and will suffer dramatically from the increased demand. There is not the space to add more class rooms without further eating into the greenbelt.
Services
The broadband in the village is woefully slow affecting consumers and businesses alike. It is being upgraded but the delivery date keeps getting pushed out and the technology being installed is already outdated. Additional demand will have a detrimental effect on peoples lives. We already have electrical outages - can the existing infrastructure cope? Are the developers going to invest in upgrading this network? Is the sewerage network suitable for the increased demand? I suspect the answer to these questions is 'no'.
Flooding
The fields in question have been identified as a flood risk (even on the council's website - see Preferred Site Allocations 2018 page ). What happens to the rain water that currently falls on absorbent ground and will be hitting tarmac if these plans succeed? It seems that lessons about building on such land have not been learnt from other developments in the country.
Local train stations for commuting
The train infrastructure has / is being upgraded in the form of Cross Rail (Shenfield / Brentwood) but there is still far too little parking at these stations. If the proposed houses are aimed at people that need to commute in to London, this is a massive oversight. Ingatestone is the other route in to London and also cannot cope with increased parking requirements.
Parking for local towns
Parking in local towns is insufficient and will be exacerbated by these planned developments.