brentwood.gov.uk

No due diligence seems to have been applied in selecting the locations in Blackmore and Blackmore appears to have been unfairly targeted. The volume and percentage increase in homes is unreasonable, especially considering that there are zero new homes planned in many of the surrounding villages, villages which already have more amenities and resources set up to cope with growth. This appears to be a hasty decision to shoehorn houses in without considering the wider impact. I have outlined this impact below:
* The site at Woollard Way/Redrose Lane is on Green Belt land which should be protected.
* The field continually floods and this already has an impact on a number of homes and gardens for a significant distance from the field. Further building will increase this and impact insurance policies and the risk of flooding for the surrounding homes.
* Evidence shows that building new homes significantly increases the risk of flooding and overwhelms current drainage systems which already cannot cope.
* This proposes an increase of 28.6% houses which will severely impact infrastructure.
* There is already limited resources - currently the nearest Health Centre can only be reached by car and is at full capacity and there are no GP surgeries situated within the parish.
* Blackmore School is at capacity.
* Infrastructure in village is already struggling and cannot accommodate more people. Roads are continually busy with high traffic levels and parking issues. Speeding is also a big issue through the village and this will further impact with a 28% increase in house.
* A 28% increase in houses could lead to a much larger increase in population depending on the type of houses built and the capacity of them. The village cannot cope with this increase.
* Utilities facilities are currently inadequate and would need to be upgraded, including water, power, gas and communications.
* Transport - there is currently only a part time bus service running from Blackmore and no other transport. Other locations have much better transport links including rail and frequent buses.
* The building work is significant and would cause a large scale disruption to peace for the residents. Many residents are currently retired or work from home so are present during the day. The noise and disruption would significantly impact the ability to work at home which would need to be compensated for those residents very near the proposed sites.
* Permanent loss of viable agricultural land is not acceptable.
* This large increase in homes will severely impact the village environment.
* This represents a disproportionate increase in urbanisation compared to other villages and surrounding areas.
* Wildlife in field will be destroyed and it will impact the wildlife in the surrounding areas.
* There is already a housing project on Fingrith Hall Lane that has started and this doesn't seem to have been taken into account as part of plan. This will further increase the capacity issues in the village.
* This will impact the value of houses adjacent to the field and the homes that currently have a view of countryside will be forced to make changes to their homes to accommodate. This includes, but is not limited to, height of fences, windows currently facing field and current views. What costs will be provided to cover this and the changes that will have to be made to accommodate backing onto a housing estate.