brentwood.gov.uk

Remove sites R25 and R26 from the Local Plan

1. There are several other developments taking place in the North of the Borough in addition to those proposed for Blackmore. No consideration has been taken in respect of these additional developments which if taken into account could well fulfil the local housing requirements without building on Green Belt Land.
2. From the discussions at a recent meeting with council representatives they were not fully aware f these other developments for example in the region of 30 dwellings at the top of Fingrith Hall Lane which will also further add to the unacceptable impact of the village
3. The planning officers have not had sufficient detailed dialogue with other local boroughs to ensure that proposals take into account all local development and options for example the development taking place in the Fyfield Road out of Ongar. I cannot accept that Brentwood Council acts independently without due consideration to all local developments that would impact on what is a huge impact which cannot be sustained by Blackmore Village.
4. The principle of residential development off of Red Rose Lane is wrong - Blackmore is an isolated village with modest services and infrastructure and I would point out the current challenges we face living here:
* One village shop/Post Office with very restricted parking
* A Doctors surgery whereby I genuinely hope I do not need to request urgent care. If you want any form of response you have to continuously dial repeatedly to get assistance - comments on the website page highlights this.
* The local village school has very limited places and resources which was put under further pressure due to a large unapproved travelling community site with some 20-30 caravans and families is also impacting on the village resources available.
5. Red Rose Lane itself is entirely unsuitable for this volume of traffic movements. This lane is regularly used currently by large agricultural vehicles which have to by-pass the village due to their size. They are large "Tracked" Tractors units towing large trailers which take up the full width of the lane and this closes the road to oncoming traffic. If they meet any vehicles coming the other way have to reverse to one of two temporary "Passing Places". Additionally large school buses use this lane again creating serious safety risks. The risk of a further 70-80 vehicles accessing the planned site and village early and late periods has simply not been fully considered and will not be feasible.

Red Rose Lane regularly floods with the water coming down Nine Ashes Road like a river and into the lane. The ditches and limited drainage near to the junction simply cannot cope and a large area is regularly left under water during the winter months. Flooding has increasingly become an issue in recent years and has now started to erode the lane at the front of our house. This will also further impact the flooding risk in the village which has been an increasing problem.

I would also add that the recent and what I would say "convenient" excessive cutting back of the bushes and trees on either side will further contribute to the flooding risk this during winter months due to the foliage now lying in the verge and ditches.

Due to the above access on/off of Red Rose Lane is simply not a viable prospect and the width of the road restricts this.

6. As a local resident I find the whole review and consultation process has been carried out in an open transparent or logical way which I would have expected if due legal process had been followed. At the initial consultations meeting so many questions were asked that the persons present could not answer and it was only when challenged by our community that further discussions took place to fully explain what was being proposed. At the last meeting we challenged the council planners in respect of other options both in and around the village which they had not taken into consideration.
7. Brentwood Council has simply not demonstrated that they have taken into account other Brownfield sites that are available which surely must take priority over the development of Green Belt Lane between Red Rose Lane and Blackmore Village.
8. No housing needs survey has been carried out by the council to justify why Blackmore has been included in the Local Development Plan and they have failed to demonstrate that the required housing could not be met by increasing housing density on other (allocated) sites.
9. Blackmore has been "singled out" because there are more suitable locations for example further urban extension to Brentwood whereby there would be sufficient resources to sustain expansion - and the locations in Blackmore do not promote sustainable development.
The current proposed plan is simply not viable as all the options have not been investigated.