brentwood.gov.uk

I live in the village of Blackmore and would like to register the following points on the revised LDP dated February 2018. Firstly, this is a total change to the last proposed LDP, when BBC felt it inappropriate to develop in the outer Brentwood Borough villages due to the insufficient local infrastructure. I am not aware of any new infrastructure that has been put in place - so why the complete change of direction? I am not for one moment suggesting that no development should take place but to increase a small village such as Blackmore by 28% - seems like a step too far. A 10% increase in numbers of houses would seem to be both a reasonable and absorbable amount for the a small village. An increase of the size proposed cannot fail to change the nature of the village and is an unfair imposition on the locals - most of who live in Blackmore because it is a small local village and the reason they moved there in the first place. It also seems that Blackmore has been 'singled out' for development within the outer villages, as many others have no development at all. Both the Orchard Piece 076 and Woollard Way 077 proposed sites suffer from poor drainage in the area along Red Rose Lane and the source of the River Widd is in this area. So any development whatsoever would have to come with some significant water management systems as part of the project, in order to prevent flooding problems further down within the Blackmore village centre itself.
To build this many houses would affect the already full local Blackmore Primary School. The current development in Fingrith Hall Road (albeit just inside the Epping Borough District) will also be having an effect on numbers at the school and funding to develop the school would have to be forthcoming in order to deal with the increase in pupils. It could not provide the service without a significant financial injection. Our Doctors surgery - which is not in our Parish but in Doddinghurst - is always stretched and getting appointments is difficult or impossible. Will provision be made to improve this service? I understand the local sewage plant is also working at capacity with present numbers. What provisions would be made to improve its capacity? These were all good reasons why BBC did not suggest developing in the Parish in the last LDP proposal. There is no mention of the type of homes to be developed in any of the areas within the plan - just numbers. A mix of sizes is absolutely essential in our parish. We need some smaller and affordable homes - not just for our young folk getting on the home owning ladder but for key workers, single adults and for those older people who would be quite happy to downsize, staying within the village, and freeing up some larger properties. The Recreation field at Tipps Cross 85B is an integral part of the workings of Tipps Cross Remembrance Hall. Wedding receptions use it, the Croquet Club uses it, children use it and the Borough Council itself uses it for Family Fun Days! Why use an amenity such as this when so many other areas are available. This is a good local amenity for the Tipps Cross area and also acts as a buffer to the properties further up the Blackmore Road from the Hall. It is also offset by the redevelopment of the garage into five new homes on the opposite side of the Hall on the corner of Tipps Cross Lane. I am at a loss as to why BBC feel Blackmore can absorb an increase of 28% of houses and feel it should look again closely at its LDP proposals.