brentwood.gov.uk

I refer to your proposal to build in West Horndon 43% of the total number of new dwellings needed and must strongly oppose this proposal. You say we are ideally located to accommodate these as we have everything essential for such a development. Has anybody actually been to West Horndon and looked around?

Yes, we have a railway station but so do other villages in and around Brentwood. Ours runs between Southend and Fenchurch Street only - one track going to London and one coming out. There is no way additional tracks could would be laid to to accommodate the extra trains which would be required to carry out the additional passengers using this service. The trains are already full by the time they reach West Horndon with passengers from our village having to push to get on and then having to stand.

Yes, we have roads. But then just about every village in and around Brentwood has roads, most if not all, lead into the M25. We are boarded by the A127 and A128 which are a nightmare to get into most of the day, but more especially during the morning and evening rush hours when they are both virtually at a standstill.

I feel most of the residents have little or no problem with housing being built on sites 020 and 021 in fact it would be a welcome relief to get rid of the 40 ton plus containers lorries that roar through our village morning, noon and night, shaking the homes as they pass most especially in Station Road.

However, it is the 1,000 plus homes on site 037 which is of concern. For one thing this land is Metropolitan Green Belt. An area set aside to give a breathing space around London and was stipulated to be sacrosanct. Even quite recently our Government reiterated that Green Belt land, especially Metropolitan Green Belt, Should not and would not be built upon.

Is West Horndon a sustainable location? Would this development make our lives better? I very much doubt it. We are a small Village of some 650+ homes and approximately 1,800 residents. You are planning to more than triple our village which would mean we could no longer call ourselves Villagers and lose the life we all moved here to enjoy.

As we are surrounded by county lanes these would require widening or indeed new roads built. We would require a new primary school as our already has a waiting list for pupils. Plus perhaps a secondary school too. A new doctors surgery - presently we can wait up to 3 days to get an appointment. WE have no shops to speak of just 2 hairdressers, McColls a very basis and small supermarket, a newsagent, amd a café. Whilst these would be adequate for say a further 500-600 homes, an additional shopping area would be required for a larger number of homes. Our only leisure activities are those organized by various village clubs and held in our village hall.

We then come to a rather large problem in the area - flooding. The Green Belt surrounding us acts as a soak-away to protect in some small way homes south of the A127. West Horndon has to my knowledge been subject to flooding three time - 1958, 1981 and 2012 when several households awoke on Christmas morning to find themselves knee deep in water. Even the A127 flooded and had to be closed. Our Church too looked as if it was sitting in the middle of a lake. Without out Green Belt we would probably have been subject to more flooding over the years. Has the Council considered exactly how much money they would have to spend rectifying this problem?

As I said most residents could be persuaded to see sites 020 and 021 developed with a mix of new homes/dwellings. But 037 is a no-no - have you considered other areas? Elliotts for one. Perhaps even extend one row of housing along Station Road leading to the A128. Also I understand that the owners of Timmermans Garden Center on the A127 are hoping to sell their land but as far no bidders have come forward. There must be other industrial areas you could consider - which like our industrial estate could be better sited on areas with easier and more direct access to major roads.

I hope you will give more thought to your plans and distribute these proposed homes more fairly and evenly throughout the Brentwood area.