brentwood.gov.uk

I take it that the Council is under threat from central government to find space within the borough without encroaching on the green belt for 6500 homes, schools, shops, jobs, roads, doctors surgeries, and recreation facilities, for their occupants. You know and I know it can't be done. The Lib Dems know it can't be done so they criticise but have no alternative suggestions. The council has tried valiantly to come up with suggestions but it is hard to know which ones are serious. Building on the town centre car parks appears to be calculated to kill the town centre stone dead. The proposal says the solution is to find alternative town centre parking! How about park and ride? Although it is not obvious where from as any possible site would be a candidate for housing! The William Hunter Way car park is not big enough as it is to meet the current demand. What about putting up a multi-story car park? If Sainsburys can do it without drama, why can't the council? It seems to me blindingly obvious that the only possible route to achieving such a housing objective is to build them on green belt land, of which there is a huge amount around Brentwood, along with new schools, shops, surgery and proper connecting roads to and around the town and not build on the central car parks, nor to bull doze the potential places of employment. Without such a move, the objective of accommodating 6500 new homes is doomed to failure. Building near the A128 behind Orchard Lane or Hatch Road would ease the road access need but not the rest of the infrastructure requirements. I understand there was a proposal to develop the land behind the Hatch Road Nisa store; why has there been no mention of that? Even if development is this area were to go ahead, it would exacerbate the A128 log jam to Wilsons Corner in the rush hour of which you will be well aware. It all points to the fact that the Brentwood infrastructure is saturated even before further expansion is embarked upon.