brentwood.gov.uk

MM1/MM2
Blackmore village is very remote. It is a long way from towns and railway stations, the bus service is almost non-existent and the lanes are too narrow and dangerous to walk. It is unsuitable for commuting and the car is the only way to travel if you live in Blackmore. More houses would therefore result in more vehicles, congestion and pollution (70 houses would result in approximately 140 more vehicles in the village). This goes against BBC’s objectives and the Government’s aim for reducing unnecessary car journeys.
The loss of 2 large green belt fields to houses would result in the loss of homes for foxes, hedgehogs, voles and badgers, amongst others.

MM5
Blackmore is not a class 3 village like Doddinghurst, it should be recognised as a class 4 village. Blackmore has 1 teashop, 1 small shop and a part time hair salon so cannot be classified the same as larger villages such as Kelvedon Hatch and Doddinghurst who have a parade of shops, a lot more houses, are closer to towns and stations, and have far better and safer road links.

MM78
Blackmore has always had a problem with flooding, and concreting over 2 large fields will just compound the situation. The idea of digging 2 ponds on each field is pointless; when there is heavy rain the water table is at ground surface level. With extreme weather becoming more frequent, the flooding situation will only get worse.

MM81
I do not think the Exceptional Circumstances Test was carried out with any thoroughness. If it had been it would have identified, and included in the LDP, the brown field sites in Stondon Massey and Red Road Lane, Blackmore.

MM107/108
Due to the exceptionally high level of concerns by most of Blackmore’s residents, BBC reduced the number of houses to be built from 70 to 50. For the inspector to increase the number back to 70 begs the question why ask the public for a response to the LDP if you are then going to ignore that response?