brentwood.gov.uk

The land at Priests Lane should be removed from the Local Development Plan.

The evidence base is flawed and unsound:

Priests Lane was never meant to be a main distributary road, which it has now become. Residents have pointed out that as such it does not comply with the Essex design guide with respect to road and pavement width.

The Transport Assessment does not account for the increased usage of Priests Lane from the proposed development of 1,000 houses in Shenfield travelling to the A127, nor does it account for the impact of the Elizabeth Line.

The Transport Assessment is inaccurate as it has excluded traffic along Priests Lane and was taken at a time which excluded a large proportion of school traffic, despite Council assurances that a traffic assessment would be done for Priests Lane.

No account has been made of the increased pollution along Middleton Hall Lane and Priests Lane, the junction of which is a pollution hot spot.

The plan fails to address safety of residents : the technical submissions of residents that new road accesses along Priests Lane are hazardous have not been addressed, nor concerns that the road design is dangerous for increased traffic movements.

NPPF Non-compliant: :Local Plans should address not only housing but traffic concerns, healthcare and education needs.

The sustainability review refers to traffic as a concern, but no mitigation options have been identified.

No specific or robust argument has been made that a viable access point is possible.

When considered against reasonable alternatives, these sites cannot be deemed justified and there is nowhere in the plan which allows for enhanced infrastructure as a result of development.

There is no additional provision for increased educational and health needs, the expansion of Hogarth School is to meet current demands and there is already a low of GPs per head. Schools further afield which may have space will require a car journey to attend, exacerbating the already dire situation.