To whom it may concern,

Firstly, thank you for giving the community the opportunity to find out about and comment on the council's plans for our town. I think it would be useful for residents to have a summarised version as at over 200 pages long it is more than most people are going to be willing to peruse. I have done my best to read as much as I can in one evening and shall comment on the points I consider most important. I welcome the drop in events being held and I hope to attend. I am one of the unfortunate residents who has missed the boat when it comes to buying a property in Brentwood, and possibly even Essex. I grew up in Brentwood as have many generations of my family before me.

With the exception of the land off Doddinghurst Road on either side of the A12, I agree to the proposals for the building of more properties. I think the land by Doddinghurst Road would be better used to provide a slip road giving access to the A12 at that point. It would reduce the traffic heading through Brentwood town centre and possibly open up opportunities to build dwellings in Pilgrims Hatch and further north in the borough without impacting so much on traffic through the town. I expect this would not be a popular suggestion if it is even possible!

Your plan doesn't make the definition of the term "intermediate" clear. Would this be "affordable" properties such as shared ownership and Help to Buy? A household of two people earning the average wage of £26,500 (perhaps teachers or nurses) with two dependants under 18 could perhaps borrow £225,000. Will there be family homes which would be affordable to that kind of family? I recently called Help to Buy East and South East to get an indication of the value of the property my husband and I could purchase using the Help to Buy Equity Loan scheme. I was told we could buy a property in the region of £210,000 which was disappointing given that we would require a family sized home and for that in Essex the minimum cost would be around £260-270k for a new build. Given that Brentwood has very high house prices compared to other towns in Essex I am concerned that "affordable" homes will still be out of the reach of many of the town's residents, including ourselves. I was very excited when I first heard of the Government's new Starter Homes scheme, however when I realised that the scheme had a long way to go before being finalised and available for use I was very disappointed, as my husband will have passed the cut off age of 40 by that time. Maybe it may be an option for my children to purchase a home in 15 years or so!

I don't think the 35% minimum of affordable housing goes far enough given that that will include social housing. At the end of 2012 there were around 1000 people on the social housing waiting list. The plan is for a little over 5000 new homes, so around 20% should be for social housing. This leaves only 15% for "affordable" homes. I expect the 35% also includes the sheltered housing that will need to be replaced. I understand that the developers want to maximise their profits and I'm sure if all the properties build were sold at market value they would sell with no problems, however this wouldn't be right for the community. Another thing that is very important for me is that the more affordable properties (if not all properties) are offered to people with a strong local connection first, but I from what I have read something is in place to ensure this happens. I know many people are moving out from London as the city becomes even more affordable and it would be pretty galling if these families were snapping up our "affordable" homes.

I also think that the ratio of 1,2,3 and 4 properties should be reconsidered. Given that families on the waiting list for social housing are waiting longer for 3 bedroom properties than for smaller ones it makes me think the need for larger properties is high.

I recently enquired about the homes to be built on the old Warley Adult College site and the developer informed me that the flats would not be eligible for the scheme and there was no guarantee that the houses would be part of the scheme either. This is because according to them the terms of Right to Buy state that there must be no longer than 6 months between reservation and completion. Do you think this could be an issue with providing other Help to Buy homes in the proposed developments? How could this be prevented?

I am intrigued by the 5% self build allocation on larger developments. How would somebody get involved with that? Would you be looking for people to set up a Community Land Trust?

There isn't a huge amount of detail said in the draft plan regarding the William Hunter Way improvements. I agree with the general consensus that a cinema would be a great asset to the community and should be built on the site. My main concern would be how to provide enough parking to replace the spaces lost by the building. Would there be underground parking or perhaps rooftop parking similar to The Brewery in Romford? If Lidl is to go ahead with opening a store at Wates Way then perhaps another supermarket on the William Hunter Way site would not be necessary.

I was recently searching for part time office based job in Brentwood, which was not that easy due to the lack of jobs being advertised. Any opportunity to create more jobs in the town and reduce the need for commuting can surely only be a good thing.

That is all the feedback I have for now. I hope that you can address my concerns.

I support the overall policy as proposed and particularly the identification by BBC of the unique character of Brentwood as consisting of a set of villages which is why I like it and live here. That village structure though is very fragile and has been vigorously defended by successive local and parish councils and residents against a constant barrage of development attempts.

As with all development that I have witnessed in areas closer to and radiating from London there is an initial fairly easy 'win' in the redevelopment of redundant industrial and / or large house sites. This is repeated over the years until all of the obvious sites are exhausted which is effectively the position that Brentwood finds itself in. e.g. the laundry in Western Avenue, Selex plant in Woodman Road and high levels of infill and repurposing such as t he Doctors' surgery site and old Freewheeler pub site in Doddinghurst.

I believe that this leaves us in a position where the character is under threat by infill destroying the edges of the villages. There are constant attempts to expand the area of my village, Doddinghurst and it is this threat that I will return to later.

I have lived in Brentwood (Doddinghurst) for 35 years and have witnessed back garden development off my road (twice!) and other infill developments and a change in the character of Brentwood to more flats and a more transient population which has changed the town from a family town.

The character of the village nature would be lost and the social cohesion also lost if further development was permitted in Doddinghurst. The infrastructure is incapable of supporting development in terms of all utilities and services.

As importantly, the younger generation appears not to want to live as I did in the countryside with its lack of public transport and lack of access to social and entertainment facilities and easy transport at the end of a day (or night) in London. It is in short, cut-off. This makes further development unnecessary and only serves to destroy the village without appreciably answering the 'dictated' need for more housing regardless of whether long term that will be needed as properties are released by an aging population that will downsize and free up housing as the 'baby boom' generation reaches their upper 70's and beyond. Any development should take this demographic change into account in allowing people to remain amongst friends and an area they know in later life. This element seems largely missing from the LDP.

Dunton

I am of the opinion that a relatively large and self contained 'village' development is the only practical answer as proposed in the LDP to providing the number of houses demanded of Brentwood. The concept as proposed is to effectively add another 'village' south of the A127 in an attempt to re-create the organically developed villages to the north of Brentwood such as Doddinghurst.
As stated earlier, the services are largely at breaking point in my village and piecemeal infill development would require a disproportionate investment in infrastructure and services compared to the housing 'unit' gain achieved. It would also result in a disproportionate damage to the quality of life and nature of the village.

If properly developed, then a real community can be established at the Dunton site with new schools, doctors, roads, sewage and all other basic services and the A127 also upgraded from its poor current standard. There is also a greater supply of suitable available land to the south of the A127.

Reference Site Allocation Maps (January 2016)
I refer to this document and particularly to the list of non-allocated housing and employment sites.
I support the containment nature of the sites proposed elsewhere by the LDP but I am very concerned at the list of non-allocated sites including several in my village.

This list is I am aware not those that are being proposed but I am very concerned that if Dunton fails to materialise and provide the bulk of the required housing then this list might be used to provide the shortfall. Whereas the LDP proposes limited development in the northern villages, this list has what are largely opportunistic and highly invasive sites proposed.

Many of the constant development proposals that have been fought through the planning process and rightfully refused both locally and at enquiry now appear in this list. It is as if we are bombarded by sufficient planning applications to eventually wear us down and to witness a total change in our village clearly against the wishes of residents.
Individuals have purchased properties and land and have put forward development sites that would radically and irreversibly change (ruin) Doddinghurst.
In particular, there is a constant push to extend and build in the rural part of Brook Lane between Mountnessing Lane and the 'made up' part of Brook Lane nearer to the village. There are large plots backing onto a beautiful country lane with a river by its side. Recently, fences have been put up and have partly encroached on the lane and attempts made to extend with several applications for building. It would be a prize for a developer but there are no facilities or infrastructure; would create a massive back development almost parallel to Doddinghurst Road and cause danger on local roads - this in addition to the massive loss of amenity that villagers would experience by the loss of this remaining rural lane.

I trust that we will not have to face the mammoth task of fighting all over again proposals to develop this and other sites that have properly been refused in the past and that current opportunistic applications will be firmly refused.

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