Dear Sirs,
( From an ordinary long-term Rochford District Resident ).
In keeping with your requirements, I submit my own observations via this e mail format, as follows.

THE BIGGER PICTURE -
Rochford District shares a small Peninsular with two other Authorities, each preparing New Local Plans.
The nett impact is in the order of a 30%+ increase in population plus unrestrained ‘Windfall Developments’.

The three sides of the area are already subject to shrinkage due to Sea Level rise erosion - as shown on
the Environmental Agency ‘ Flood Risk for Planning ‘.
Existing urbanizations are already at risk, particularly to the East of the District ( The Wakerings ).

The Southern half of the Peninsular has already been Overdeveloped ; the A13 Highway has long since lost it’s strategic status, it’s traffic loading redirected onto the only alternate E<>W Trunk Road ( A127 via A130 ).

The Northern half of the zone lies within the Rochford District, and is predominantly semi-rural Green Belt but already under attack from existing Local Plan (Rawreth, Hullbridge, Hockley, Rochford & potentially Ashingdon).

The whole Peninsular is served by just one, 100 year old, Road ( A127 East ), one NHS Hospital, declining Public Services / Law and Order / Civic Amenities / High Street collapse / Homelessness / Food Banks /even Pot Holes!!.

In simple terms a 30%+ increase in population will not be tenable ( nor reflect the sham NPPF ‘ Localism ‘ ); and will introduce “denser” new urbanizations and the associated Social problems thereafter.
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LEARNING FROM THE PAST -
Modern history illustrates a series of events which we now face once again - the post crisis / austerity due to 1. WW1 ( + Spanish Flu ).
2. WW2 ( Damage + Debt ).
3. Closely followed by the knock-on Baby Boomer impact.
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4. 2008 Fiscal Crash - ( Existing Local Plan ).
5. COVID 19 Pandemic Debt - ( New Local Plan ).

Notation as above :-
1. Housing in such large numbers could only be achieved via a Government Managed scheme, a very relevant reference to our area would be the huge Becontree Estate ( 100 years ago ).
2. Likewise a ‘real’ housing emergency tackled in the same way ( Stevenage, Harlow, Basildon, Bracknell……New Towns* ).
3. The same principal, in modernised form, was then used to
create the likes of Milton Keynes / Crawley ……etc;.

These solutions were holistic ( Homes>Employment,Schools, Hospitals,Transport Links,Road Networks,Police Stations etc;), with economy of scale delivering Infrastructure at “ low cost per front door “.
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4. The existing Local Plan is not working because the so called Housing Crisis has been subcontracted, piece-meal, to Private Developer’s ( not meeting targets, quality issues emerging and above all no Government Strategic Infrastructure ).
5. The New Local Plan would appear to be more of the same, which, albeit Brown Field or Green Belt, will not address the core problem of the overwhelmed Infrastructure and Public Services.

The Essex County Council ‘Growth & Infrastructure Report 2016 quantified the shortfall in Essex Infrastructure funds as £Billions.
There is no point in discussing the merit of each potential Site if the fundamental fabric of physical Infrastructure is ignored; this approach is not a vision for the future but simply negligent.

The scale of Housing created by the NPPF needed an all Essex solution ( as before ) - namely strategically located New Towns*, not bolt-on / lean-to extensions to already failing Towns/Villages.
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SUMMARY OVERVIEW -
I OBJECT to this Spatial exercise because it relegates the key issue ( Infrastructure ) as a third priority - your Doc Reference Page 25 / Section 3/51. In fact it fails to create any confidence that the oft repeated mantra ( Infrastructure First ) is not, once more, ‘ talking the talk ‘ rather than ‘ walking the walk ‘.

An uncoordinated 30%+ increase in Peninsular population has to be challenged. The three Authorities should combine their resource and expertise to produce a (Town & Country Planning
Act) structured assessment, as to why it is not viable. In fact the Spatial Study is the actual purpose of such an appraisal !!.

The 3 key existing issues are obvious :-
+ The critical E<>W access and egress ROUTE ( A127 East ) between
the Rayleigh Weir and Sutton Road needs De-Bottlenecking and a modern remote managing system ( like a Motorway ).
+ The critical NHS HOSPITAL & related Services needs either to be
duplicated; or relieved by a network of new Medical Centres to deal with the mundane, leaving the Hospital to treat only serious illnesses.
+ Technology is slowly but surely eroding the need for mass a commute,
providing local EMPLOYMENT means more than the odd Business Park & Industrial Estate. We need to be looking to the coming Electric Power revolution and create a hub for the Industry & Services it will create.

Quite simply, due to the shear scale (£Billions) of such a Project, the task is beyond the capabilities of any single Council with limited resources and part-time Councillor’s.

GOVERNMENT “ OUTSOURCING “ A HOUSING CRISIS, IS ABDICATION OF THEIR ACCOUNTABILITY - WHICH NEEDS CHALLENGING BY THOSE WHO REPRESENT US ( RDC ).

* FOOTNOTE - or by any other name ( Garden Suburbs )