Dear council,

Thank you for the opportunity to comment of the Spatial Options Consultation and I do hope you take time to consider my suggestions.

I absolutely understand the need for further housing in the District so that future generations have the option to reside in the area and to own their own home. However I urge you to please attempt to be as innovative and creative as possible in your delivery of these new homes and their location.

Put simply, I believe your local plan for housing and net carbon zero targets contradict each other and are incompatible in their current forms. Almost certainly meeting central government housing targets almost certainly prevent the District meeting net carbon zero due to increased road traffic and ever decreasing tree coverage.

The most considerable bone of contention among existing residents is to protect the current greenbelt from future development.

With these three factors in mind, please consider refraining from all development on greenbelt and instead optimise this land offered to plant new woodland, rewilding projects and leisure space, which will safeguard greenbelt, habitats and help meet the net zero carbon targets.

In terms of where to then build the urgently needed housing, please consider brownfield as much as possible, or even better, new settlements with its own infrastructure would be optimal. I personally see Ballards Gore (between Canewdon and Paglesham) as an ideal opportunity for a new settlement, or even the expansion of Paglesham as a settlement. Current development appears to be unfairly proportioned across Rayleigh, Hullbridge, Rochford and Great Wakering, with little to no development having taken place across Canewdon, Paglesham, Stonebridge, Barling Magna, and South Fambridge in the last 10-15 years.

Thank you again for the opportunity to feed suggestions into this consultation and I urge you to please proceed responsibly by not further destroying greenbelt and habitats, reducing tree coverage, and taking the character away from the lovely villages that make up Rochford District.