To whom it may concern

The following are my opinions concerning the proposals for the increase in housing within the Hockley/Hawkwell area.

I am not going to highlight each development individually as I believe there should be NO major housing development within the area. My reasons are as follows.

50 new homes in the Folly Chase, 175 homes within the Hawkwell area as well as homes in the Eldon Way. I have recently found out that there is planning for 600 homes off Hall road, Rochford and 500 homes to built in Hullbridge. That brings a total of 1325+ home within our small region. The last 2 developments may not be in Hockley/Hawkwell but would have an adverse effect on the VILLAGE.

Issues with mass new developments it does not take a rocket scientist to highlight there will be a huge impact on local roads and infrastructure, where at present, they are already very busy and by adding more cars will simply bring the local area to a standstill.

Impact on local services will be huge, doctors cannot cope with huge numbers. Schools are at bursting point and the fiasco of a NHS dentist over the last few months further highlights the point of the local services CANNOT COPE.

With all the new developments it was highlighted by council planning staff there would be road improvements. Folly Chase and Folly Lane cannot be widened due to existing housing and railway bridge. It does not matter how you improve road network it still cannot cope with an influx of cars.

I believe more housing would be detrimental effect on the Hockley and surrounding area. With more people it becomes more congested and busy. This is the opposite reason why so many people want to live in Hockley became of it VILLAGE lifestyle. The effect would be Hockley becomes too busy and congested, noisy it soon does not become a nice place to live and eventually house prices will begin to fall because of the law of diminishing returns. The busier the VILLAGE becomes the more congested it becomes and people then would want to move out.

As stated by the council planning staff at the Meeting at Greensward school housing would be built on green belt land. I thought that green belt land is protected against development. It seems that of the council want to build on green belt land they can when it suits them.

I am aware that the extra housing is being forced upon you by central government. Could the planning department please have some balls and stick up for local residents and stand up to government with these issues.

A last issue as we approach the General Election what are the chances of the development being completed if a new government is formed?

Below is my first statement of the development of Hockley stating my opinions on the development and aspects will relate to the present increase in homes.

1. The report continually refers to Hockley as a town. I believe Hockley is still a village and for most residents this remains so. Rayleigh has a population of over 30,000 which reflects its town's status whilst Hockley has less than 8,900 people. Stated in the report on p54, Hockley is not considered to meet the definition of a 'town centre' Retail and Leisure Study 2008.
2. The high amount of residential homes to be built I believe will put even more pressure on already stretched public services. Local schools are at bursting point; Greensward School has very little space if at all available to build to build more classrooms. Doctor's surgeries are so busy they only have a limited time to care for patients.
3. Building flats/apartments obviously saves on land but the impacts are more widespread. This increase population again putting more stress on public services and infrastructure. As stated on p16 (2.6.1) there are aprox 15,000 cars a day use Hockley's roads. By increasing the amount of homes this will put even more stress on the roads from the inhabitant's cars.
4. The traffic problem at the Spa roundabout is not solely due to the poor road layout but to too many cars due to a high population coupled with drivers not understanding how to actually use a roundabout. I frequently observe drivers signalling right and continuing straight on. Traffic lights are not the answer to solve the problem. Most of the time the junction is fine except at rush hour due to huge numbers of people using the junction.
5. Stated in the report (p11) the council would look to build larger retail unit. I presume by this statement it would mean a large supermarket chain such a Tesco. By encouraging big multinational companies into the village would spell disaster for the local butchers, greengrocer, and newsagents. Further points to highlight concerning a big supermarket chain would be more traffic from local areas into the centre of the village creating more chaos and stress on local roads. Secondly there are already three big supermarket chains within a short drive of Hockley. Tesco on the A127, ASDA on Rawreth Lane and Sainsbury's at Rayleigh Weir. There should be encouragement of local Business not huge companies with no ties to the area.
6. Nowhere in the report does it state an introduction of cycle paths. Referring back to point 3 and 15,000 cars use the roads would it be a good idea to try and encourage people onto their bikes and maybe reduce the amount of cars. I frequently cycle to work and at times still do not feel safe. I am aware that people travel long distances to work and cycling is not a viable option, but provision should still be available. This could act to encourage people to cycle and reduce the amount of traffic.

7. As stated earlier I think Hockley could benefit from development in its shopping area. An increase in housing I feel would be detrimental to the work that is going to put into the area. After studying the tables on pages 41-45 it seems a huge increase in properties being built depending on which option is chosen. I have already stated the stress on local services. With more property being built comes cars. If every dwelling had an average of 2 cars per household that would mean more cars on the road. The table below shows how many more cars would be on the road



Option No. of Dwellings No of cars
1.1 140 180
1.2 114 128
2.1 158 316
2.2 209 418
3.1 157 314
3.2 186 372

8. Under the 6 proposals The Hockley clinic (area H) would be moved to area L. I understand that health visitors from this unit have already been moved out to Rayleigh, so new mothers and families have to travel to Rayleigh for care, help and advice. What is the point of providing a service of care if they are already in another town? Secondly what is stopping the local authorities of moving health care altogether out of Hockley into a super clinic in Rayleigh? This can be referred back to the point I keep stressing of the increase in population but limited public services available.
9. Further questions are, what is the time scale for this development? With the present financial climate is this the right time? Stated in point 3.10.3 it will be a long term matter will the development just simply fade away over time? Will there be a formal meeting for residents of Hockley and the council so we can air our views?