Spatial Options Consultation:
I oppose any further residential development in the Rochford Council area - in particular in Great Wakering and the bordering area of Southend Borough Council.
The grounds for my objection include:

A lack of infrastructure:
There are only 2 roads in and out of Great Wakering. In the event of an emergency evacuation of the village - which is very probable because many homes are already built on an ever-expanding (because of global warming and the resulting higher tides) flood plane.
The junction of Alexandra Road and the High Street regularly floods resulting in water lapping into our house. When I lived in the adjacent Brougham Close we had a major claim against Anglian Water when the sewage system failed to cope with heavy rainfall.
There is one primary school in the village and each year there are not enough school places to fulfil demand.
The Wakering Medical Centre has already tipped over through demand, with complaints lodged as residents are unable to get through on the phone line and emails are unanswered, let alone are residents able to secure an appointment.
Parking is a major issue in Great Wakering. With families regularly owning more than two vehicles per dwelling, will the proposed developments be able to factor in sufficient parking spaces? Where will any overspill be accommodated. There’s certainly no more room on our residential streets.
Like the majority of those who have chosen to live in the village, I have done so because of the quality of life this gives me and my family.
The erosion of the nearby countryside would have a huge detrimental effect on the quality of life for me, my family and thousands of local residents.
Can the authorities guarantee that the developers will follow building guidelines to ensure there is no disruption to local residents’ lives? There are multiple complaints made about the development of the Wimpy estate on Star Lane. The local authorities appear powerless to enforce the nuisance of noise and pollution from this development. My family has not been able to enjoy the expected peace of our garden for several years because of the noise and pollution coming from this development. What guarantees can be given that further developments will not blight the peace and tranquility of village life?
More housing will increase crime. Insurance premiums will rise. What compensation will be available for locsl residents to redress this negative impact on their finances?
Water supply has been cut off to Great Wakering in recent months due to a failing infrastructure that can be traced all the way back to the Bournes Green roundabout. Will the supply be able to cope with the additional demand of local houses.
The village is blessed with biodiversity and wildlife. Birds of prey, Canadian geese, a duck pond overflowing with wildlife, Great Wakering Common - it’s upkeep in the charge of local residents - is brimming with wildfowl, animals and flora. . . there is a true sense of village community in our corner of Essex and this will be terribly eroded by any proposed development.
It is a fact that the majority of serious road accidents occur on rural roads. Fatalities along Southend Road are commonplace. There are two blind corners on this mile-long stretch of road - my heart is in my mouth every time I go along this road. Add further vehicles to the mix and you will be responsible for adding more deaths and serious injuries to these hard-to-bear statistics.
This area is a peninsula-people have to travel to work. There is no nearby train station and the bus services have limited capacity, a handful of destinations and run a limited service on Sundays that means those without vehicles are cut off from the rest of the world from early on in the evening.
Building homes in condensed areas goes against both the environmental legislation and the UK Government’s goal of carbon neutrality.
How can this and all the other developments be allowed to go ahead while Boris Johnson grandstands in meetings with the president of the USA demanding North America gets its house in order when it comes to the environment?
It is my understanding that the only reason the areas under consideration have been chosen is to satisfy central government edicts that do not take into account the intricacies of our local area.
If the Government is so keen to “level up” the UK - don’t level Great Wakering’s countryside. Develop the homes required away from the over-populated south east of England and protect what countryside remains.