brentwood.gov.uk

The plan has not considered the extent to which development of infrastructure will depend on neighbouring boroughs. If the A127 corridor is developed the infrastructure used will come in most part from Basildon rather than Brentwood. Brentwood will then have to contribute to improvements for Basildon that will not benefit the people of Brentwood.

When considering options Brentwood needs to be realistic about what new infrastructure can be constructed in the timescale of the developments given present and near future austerity measures. There should be no decision to build in areas where infrastructure is already inadequate until there are firm commitments to improve the infrastructure before or during the development.

For development of the A127 corridor the infrastructure is already inadequate. Road and rail infratsructure is poor in the area in contrast to the A12 corridor where Crossrail is nearing completion and the major road junctions to the A12 are much better than those onto the A127.

Education infrastructure in the A127 corridor is already woefully inadequate. Secondary school age children from West Horndon and Langdon Hills are almost exclsuively bused to other towns such as Billericay and Brentwood because there is no adequate provision for secondary schools there. At least one new large secondary school is needed in the West of Basildon to support the local population. If the Dunton Garden Suburb is built there will be enough demand for a second new secondary school. Yet the draft local plan for Basildon makes no provision for such secondary schools. Since a secondary school can require about 10 hectares of land these schools would need to be planned along with new developments and cannot be left to be built later.