brentwood.gov.uk

Q1: Yes - Splitting the borough into three areas of North, A12 Corridor and A127 Corridor would appear to make sense given the different characteristics of these areas.

Q2: No - Road and Rail infrastructure in the A127 Corridor is already over capacity during the rush hour. There would appear to be little scope to widen the road as new houses have already been built to the edge of the A127 whereas the A12 could potentially be expanded in a number of areas. The consultation document also implies that the A127 has greater development potential due to it having a "different landscape character". Whilst it does indeed have a different landscape character to say the North of the Borough, the local residents' value of the open space and farmland should not be considered any lower than residents of the North of the Borough. The open fenland should be considered any lower than residents of the North of the Borough. The open fenland landscape is valued extremely highly by local resident and contributes to an open rural feel to this area and local settlements. Flood risk is not addressed for any of the sites and it is clearly a major problem in the A127 Corridor and needs to be fully assessed prior to any decisions being made.

Q3: Yes - 020 and 021 are already in the 5 year land supply and are brownfield sites that could be developed. If the proposed 500 dwellings were to go ahead this could almost double the size of West Horndon village and would require major improvements to the infrastructure, including, roads, school, health care and public transport, as the current infrastructure would be inadequate to cope with the proposed new dwellings.

037A, B and C, 038A and B and 126 are all Greenbelt sites, development of these would change the existing West Horndon village beyond recognition putting a strain on residents and infrastructure. In addition the consultation document makes no reference to the major flooding problems that would occur if development took place on any of these sites.

200 I would support the Dunton Garden Suburb Site to provide the required housing level within the Borough, providing that the West Horndon community is safeguarded in an appropriate manner with a regard to infrastructure and a sufficient buffer of land maintained going forward.

Q4: I would question this statement that there is greater capacity for the A127 as opposed to the A12. Site 200, Dunton Garden Suburb, would create the least harm I believe. If it was undertaken in a sensitive manner site 200 has the potential to provide Brentwood Council with the required level of residential development, whilst creating a self-sufficient sustainable development with access to a level of infrastructure funding that would offer the best chance for a positive outcome for existing and new residents of the A127 Corridor. Whilst site 200 would be our preferred option, an appropriate buffer zone needs to be incorporated on the western edge of the development up to the A128 to prevent future urban creep and minimize the impact of development on existing residents. Development of the land immediately adjacent to the village would destroy the current village environment. In addition, Brentwood Borough Council must use the duty to cooperate to negotiate with other authorities to prevent development taking place in Thurrock to the south of West Horndon. Such development would also cause harm similar to that identified for sites 037, 038 and 126.

Q5: Yes - Given the level of projected housing needed with the Borough, the A12 Corridor has the ability to meet a significant portion of the increased housing needs and suitable sites should be included in any spatial strategy.

Q6: Where there are available, suitable sites, brownfield should always be considered above Greenfield sites. There may be instances where the release of small amounts of Green Belt land around villages provides opportunities for these villages to grow in a sustainable manner. However, this should only be considered once brownfield options have been exhausted and where the development would create a positive and balanced impact on the community. Releasing all of the Green Belt land around West Horndon village for example would not create a positive or balanced impact on to the existing community. There may be some isolated instances where limited development in the Green Belt provides benefits which exceed the harm they cause. e.g. in West Horndon the current access to the park is limited. A small amount of development which improves the access is an example of such a possible development.

Q7: Yes - With the industrial estates at West Horndon expected to be developed for primary residential development it is imperative that replacement employment opportunities are provided within the A127 Corridor, which should be accessible via public transport as well as road.

Q8: Yes - Apart from the need for local shops in villages, primary shopping locations should be focused within Town Centres. However, Town Centre First retail development should be preceded by both reliable and regular public transport links to all, including the more rural locations, car parking facilities and road network improvements.

Q9 Yes - West Horndon village currently benefits from a small community park. As part of any potential future development both within the village and the Dunton Garden Suburb there is significant opportunities to enhance this park from a facilities and access perspective.

Q10:
Scenic Beauty / Attractiveness: 4
Outdoor Recreation / Leisure Use: 3
Wildlife Interest: 5
Historic Interest: 4
Tranquility: 5

Q11:
Houses: 3
Commercial / Industrial buildings: 3
Nature Reserves / Wildlife: 3
Farmland: 4
Woodland: 2
Degraded / Derelict / Waste land: 1
Infrastructure: 3
Leisure / Recreation Facilities: 2

Q12: Yes - Development must not increase the challenges to the borough's infrastructure i.e. it must be small enough not to create a significant demand on current infrastructure or big enough to generate money to create/improve infrastructure to meet the new need. Whilst transport is considered, the focus appears to be on Crossrail and links to Brentwood Town Centre. Although important, given the scale of potential development within the A127 Corridor, a completely fresh transport strategy needs to be developed for this area. This will need to consider both the impact of Brentwood and Basildon's development along the Shoeburyness to Fenchurch Street rail line and other local councils looking to develop along this line as well (significant knock-on impact that may not be considered by looking at just Brentwood and Basildon's plans alone). It also needs to consider how residents of the Dunton Garden Suburb (ifdeveloped) travel to West Horndon, Laindon and Basildon and how West Horndon village residents travel to the Dunton Garden Suburb, Brentwood and Basildon town centres. The transport strategy will also need to incorporate regular public transport to local employment locations given the potential redevelopment of the West Horndon Industrial estates. From a road perspective, the consultation document focuses heavily on the A12 and A127. However, the A128 links these two roads and importantly links the south of the Borough to Brentwood Town Centre (including related infrastructure, importantly, secondary schools). Any development within the A127 or A12 corridors will need to consider how to alleviate what will become intolerable strain on this specific road. In addition to transport, education, healthcare, community facilities and green infrastructure are all identified as significant infrastructure considerations. The detail on these within the consultation document is limited and significantly more detail will be necessary to ensure future development is carried out sustainably. Timing of infrastructure needs to have a stronger focus than currently seen in the consultation. Given the scale of potential development within the A127 Corridor, supporting infrastructure needs to be in place first, to prevent a significant and materially negative impact on existing residents. This will also ensure that any new development is undertaken in a sustainable manner.

Q13: Given the scale of development proposed within the A127 Corridor, whilst there will be priorities the development will require infrastructure spending across all categories (education, healthcare, transport, green space and community facilities etc.) and is of paramount importance, failure to provide any one element of infrastructure will have a materially negative impact on both the existing residents and new development. As such, whilst there may be priorities in areas where development is expected to be lower/less significant, in areas expected to see high levels of development, a holistic infrastructure plan needs to be delivered to ensure development is undertaken in a sustainable manner.