Object

Representation ID: 470

Received: 02/10/2013

Respondent: West Horndon Parish Council

Agent: SJK Planning

1. Object to the disproportionate scale of proposals in relation to the size of West Horndon and the proportion of the Borough's housing numbers the village is proposed to accommodate.

2. The proposal is for major development alongside a small community, representing 43% of new homes to be provided in the Borough up to 2030. The Plan suggests West Horndon could give rise to further capacity in the long-term.

3. The scale of development proposed would swamp the existing village, effectively creating a new settlement. There is no explanation as to why West Horndon should accept a disproportionate number of new homes.

Object

Representation ID: 474

Received: 02/10/2013

Respondent: West Horndon Parish Council

Agent: SJK Planning

2. The Plan has been presented as a top-down process from the Borough to the Parish without first establishing whether, in principle, the village is prepared to consider such a proposal.

The NPPF says that local planning authorities should aim to involve all sections of the community in the development of Local Plans and in planning decisions, and should facilitate neighbourhood planning. This is also set out in the Localism Act (quote provided in response).

Object

Representation ID: 476

Received: 02/10/2013

Respondent: West Horndon Parish Council

Agent: SJK Planning

3. A large proportion of the land allocation at West Horndon is within Metropolitan Green Belt, and no exceptional circumstances have been put forward to justify release.

The larger part of the allocation is within Green Belt. NPPF guidance is clear that development in Green Belt is by definition inappropriate and harmful.

Exceptional circumstances must exist to justify the loss of Green Belt land. The Government has recently clarified that housing demand is unlikely to constitute the exceptional circumstances to justify such loss. The Borough's Plan contradicts this by suggesting that Green Belt should be released to satisfy housing demand.

Object

Representation ID: 485

Received: 02/10/2013

Respondent: West Horndon Parish Council

Agent: SJK Planning

4. Even with improvements to facilities and infrastructure, West Horndon is not a sustainable location for the scale of development proposed. New development should be in sustainable locations, accessible to local services.

West Horndon is a small remote village:
few shops.
no secondary-school.
Primary-school at capacity.
Three-day wait for doctor.
Infrequent buses.
Station has limited additional capacity.
Railway doesn't link to Brentwood.
Station car park at capacity.
Many roads and junctions at capacity.
Most journeys made by car.

Improvements and new facilities would not overcome unsustainable location.

Evidence is needed on the above and more, which has not been done.

Object

Representation ID: 495

Received: 02/10/2013

Respondent: West Horndon Parish Council

Agent: SJK Planning

7. Inadequate consideration has been given to flood risk. West Horndon has been subject to at least three serious flooding incidents since substantial development of the village took place in the mid-1950s (1958, 1981 and 2012). Each of these incidents followed very heavy rain.

Any development on the land identified 037 has significant potential to increase flood risk. This has not been properly assessed and thus its significance is unknown. Development on this land must be rejected until it can be demonstrated that any increase in flood risk is insignificant both in the area of the development and surrounding locations.

Object

Representation ID: 496

Received: 02/10/2013

Respondent: West Horndon Parish Council

Agent: SJK Planning

8. Development would result in the loss of a local employment generator with no clear indication as to how this might be replaced.

Proposals involve the redevelopment of some 16.23 hectares of employment land. An important question is whether existing local businesses can be relocated on nearby sites, or as part of the new development. Otherwise local employment will be lost.

Object

Representation ID: 499

Received: 02/10/2013

Respondent: West Horndon Parish Council

Agent: SJK Planning

The plan in its present form does not pass the tests as set out in the NPPF, which states that:-

"Local Plans should develop robust and comprehensive policies that set out the quality of developments that would be expected of the area, responding to local character and being visually attractive."

West Horndon is a small low density settlement surrounded by open countryside. The village is characterised by larger plots backing onto open fields. The construction of 1,500 or more houses on the edge of the village, would result in the loss of open countryside, wildlife and bio-diversity.