Comment

Preferred Site Allocations 2018

Representation ID: 19329

Received: 27/02/2018

Respondent: Mr & Mrs John and Marian Long

Number of people: 2

Representation Summary:

There are spelling mistakes in the Plan: "accomodation", "equaled", "endeavoring". This may seem a minor point compared with our comments above, but it is indicative of the lack of care and attention to detail of the Plan overall.

Full text:

We have lived in Brentwood since 1965 and moved to our present address in June, 1968. We consider that if the draft plan is put into effect it will ruin Brentwood.

Shortly after we moved to Nags Head Lane, an application was submitted to build 38 houses / bungalows between the existing houses and the railway line, as "in-fill". Quite rightly, Planning rejected the application, largely on the grounds that the site was in Green Belt. Now the Council itself is proposing that 1,827 dwellings should be constructed in Green Belt. Such a cavalier suggestion reveals not only an appalling lack of concern for the importance of the Green Belt, but also would also provide a very dangerous precedent for future possible proposals.

Of the proposed 1,827 dwellings, 125 are in Nags Head Lane: an increase of more than 200%. The proposed site access is close to the dangerous double bend under the railway bridge. Normal traffic is now at times heavy; when there are problems on the motorway or at the M25 roundabout (not uncommon) the Lane quickly becomes heavily congested. The proposal is a recipe for chaos. Yet "Site Constraints" for this site does not mention traffic flow, nor does it consider Green Belt a constraint.

Both this site and the one in Honeypot Lane are in the parish of St Peter South Weald and thus the local school is in South Weald village. This is an outstanding school that is already very over-subscribed and has been refused permission to expand. If the Draft Plan goes ahead, not only will more and more parents be disappointed, but children will face problems reaching schools to which they have been allocated elsewhere in increasingly congested Brentwood.

A considerable increase in the amount of traffic in the town centre is inevitable, but under this plan most of the surface car parks would be built upon. How is it possible to reconcile the removal of so much car parking with the encouragement of more cars? The only acknowledgement of this problem is the glib statement: "...sufficient levels of car parking will need to be provided." This begs a vital question - sufficient for what? Certainly not sufficient to make up for the amount of parking space that will be destroyed.

Provision of health care is dealt with in an equally sketchy manner. We will give three quotations on this extremely important subject. "...it is not always an easy task to analyse the impact of new housing on the current healthcare infrastructure and indeed plan for new infrastructure." (page 46); "The proposed range of housing growth is likely to further intensify the number of patients per GP." (p. 47); "...a number of practices may be under pressure in terms of patient numbers and potential healthcare issues.)" (p. 47). At least there is a realisation of a problem here. But on such a vital matter a delay in addressing these issues is not acceptable; it certainly does not fill the residents of Brentwood with optimism! There is no indication that anything constructive has been done.

In addition to lack of protection for the Green Belt, there is other evidence of little concern for the environment. Three of the sites are in or next to Conservation Areas: 041, 040 and 039. There are even more bordering on Local Wildlife Sites: 034, 081, 117A, 117B, 194 and 263.

Regarding other aspects of the proposed sites: there are three with water courses crossing them, and no fewer than nine that the Plan admits are subject to flooding.

We would be ashamed to submit to the public a formal document containing spelling mistakes: "accomodation", "equaled", "endeavoring". This may seem a minor point compared with our comments above, but it is indicative of the lack of care and attention to detail of the Plan overall.