brentwood.gov.uk

My modification would be that sites R25 and R26 should be removed from the LDP and that Planners should refer to the BVHA 'neighbourhood plan'. This clearly sets out our local housing needs, and would avoid further development in the Blackmore area which is an already sustainable community.

I do not believe the plan is sound for the following reasons:
1. There has not been sufficient consultation with other neighbouring authorities. For example Epping Forest District Council which is building about 30 new houses just 1 mile north of Blackmore at the top of Fingrith Hall lane. This will have a major impact on the village amenities, and will increase traffic flow though the village, especially when added to the over 70 new properties being proposed for Blackmore.
2. The access to/from Red Rose Lane is completely unsuitable for the addition of over 70 properties as it is a single track lane which is unsuitable for heavy construction traffic, and the following traffic generated by the 70 properties.
3. The village has historically been subject to serious flooding, most recently being 3 years ago. Red Rose lane is susceptible to flooding and this makes it impassable to vehicles. Adding over 70 properties with their associated run-off will cause further flooding problems, even with the adoption of SUDS.
4. The sewerage, electricity and other utilities were not designed to cope with an additional 70 properties (an increase of around 30%) without counting the 30 extra properties in Fingrith Hall road.
5. There has been no clear housing strategy for the North of the Borough. Whilst there are many options that could be considered for building houses in the North of the Borough, it is as if Blackmore has been chosen with virtually no other options being considered.
6. There has been no 'Housing Needs' survey carried out which would demonstrate why Blackmore has been included in the LDP, and why other areas have not.
7. The Borough Council have not shown that the required additional houses for the Borough could not be delivered by increasing the housing density on the other allocated sites in the plan.
8. There are Brownfield sites available nearby but there is no evidence these have been considered in preference to using greenfield, Green Belt land.
9. Putting a substantial residential development in the north of the village on Green Belt land off of Red Rose Lane which increases the housing in a historic village by over 30% is fundamentally wrong. The infrastructure (bus services, roads, village facilities, doctors, school) simply cannot cope with such a large increase of people.
10. Adding approximately 200 more cars (over 70 houses in Blackmore and 30 in Fingrith Hall lane) in the village of Blackmore (which already suffers from significant parking problems) will create a real danger to pedestrians in the village. The lives of small children and old people will be put in real danger with such a large increase in traffic volumes.
11. There is not sufficient public transport links to the surrounding areas to make this environmentally sound, as the increase in private vehicles will add to the pollution already caused during the development phase.
12. Other more suitable locations (eg areas around Doddinghurst, urban extensions to Brentwood, increasing the size of the Dunton Hills proposal) which all have better transport links would have been a far better proposal than the development in Blackmore which is not a sustainable development proposal.
13. The pieces of land proposed in Blackmore are important wildlife and natural habitats for rare species such as newts and other creatures.
14. The Local Development Plan proposal includes a plan to regularize an unauthorized traveler site on the Chelmsford Road. This will add to further overcrowding in the village and of it's services by the addition of more permanent dwellings.