Assuming that housing targets must be met, I think the strategy of concentrating development around the larger existing settlements is probably correct.
However, the document gives no indication of how the apportionment between Rochford, Rayleigh, Hockley,etc. was arrived at.Presumably, the Council have done capacity studies looking at the development potential of specific sites, but this information is not made available.Without site-specific proposals showing, for example how much green belt land would need to be taken, it is impossible to comment on the "general development locations", except to re-iterate that the district is already overdeveloped to the point where quality of life suffers.