brentwood.gov.uk

I am writing to Brentwood Council to raise an objection to the plans put forward by Brentwood County Council to build in both Blackmore (Woollard Way and Orchard Piece sites) and Tipps Cross, Hook End. I live with my husband and two children aged XX and XX in Blackmore and have been a resident here for just over 18 years. I acknowledge that it is a desirable community to live in and feel lucky to do so and raise a family here. However, since I have lived in the village there have been many changes and resources taken away. The recycle bins have been removed, we have lost a pub, a butchers, a library (mobile one is to reduce to and become every 3 weeks and for only 1 hour), The Old School building, the church has a part time vicar now who also runs Stondon Massey church and we have very poor mobile phone reception. People do not want to take part in village life. They use it as a commuter town. Having lost the above mentioned services 96 more houses in the village will mean that there are more need for such services and we will not be able to meet them. The bus service is very poor and does not run regularly to either Chelmsford or Brentwood or in the evening or a Sunday. This limits job opportunities and education opportunities. The changes in the Transport Policies for getting Children to Secondary Schools in the Brentwood area, means I am now paying over £700 a year to send my XX year old to his catchment school with his older brother, who gets it free. The new houses will put pressure on the schools in the area. I work in Blackmore school and we are more or less full and there is no room to build. It is a very special school and part of the community. In a larger community it would lost it's unique place as a village school. There is also nowhere to add extra classrooms without losing fields for sport. The village is a conservation area in the centre and is part of our heritage in this country. I believe to build on the outskirts on valuable green belt land it will be an irreplaceable lost. It is land that can be farmed. It is also giving Rural children a chance to grow up in a rural community. Any larger and it will become a town. Congestion on the roads will be a problem. All the roads are small roads and are not meant for heavy traffic. There is no parking in the village centre as it is and it is an accident waiting to happen near The tearooms and The Coop shop. There is no room to build a car park. The village has problems also with sewage and flooding so building house will increase the pressure on our services. The local Doctors surgery is over stretched too and appointments are hard to get. Increased demand will mean a service in the area that cannot meet the local populations needs. It also means it is a bus journey away. Recently there have been problems in the area with teenagers roaming the streets. Increased numbers of young people with very little to do in a small community will cause greater unrest in the village. We have no local Policeman and no Police station that will come and deal with the problems we face. There will also be disruption while it is built. These local roads and disruption of services will cause major problems for local residents, especially the elderly and young. Where do you go to get away from the noise, dust, mess when services are cut off? As a village we often have power cuts. Can the services cope with more housing? We also have a poor broadband service and mobile phone reception. Building at Tipps Cross means also an increase in demand for local services plus the loss of a popular recreation field that will be needed if we have an increase in population. I feel very strongly that although Brentwood maybe should supply more housing Blackmore is not the best place and by doing so the changes will be irreplaceable and the community here will be lost for ever.