Our hearts sank when we received notice of a possible building development across the road from our new house. We moved to the end of Bull Lane at the end of June, then learnt of the possibility of houses being built there at the start of August.

As a family, we have wanted to move to the countryside for a long time. When we found the house at the end of Bull Lane, it was in a perfect position- right by fields and also within easy walking distance of a nice town, which we thought was important with young children.

We have always lived on a cul de sac, and having only farm traffic go past was an easy compromise to make. We would be devastated to suddenly have more traffic going right past our house. Coming from a busy town, we paid a premium to be right by the fields. For this to be taken away from us would produce a huge amount of stress.

Furthermore, we believe it is not right to build on green belt land. If it continues, we as a country will end up with no green space which would be extremely detrimental to our environment. As a family, we are doing as much as we can to help the environment, including for example using reusable nappies. Those in power need to take some responsibility for keeping our green space green.

There are already a huge amount of new houses going up around Rayleigh, including developments on Rawreth Lane, and at the top of Hambro Hill. These are both less than ten minutes from our house. We really don't think it is necessary to put up more houses so close to these developments. It will not only harm the green belt, but will also produce more traffic. Rayleigh town centre is already too busy.

More new families moving to new houses also means schools will be more stretched than they are already, and doctors will have even longer waiting lists. We do not think Rayleigh has enough resources to support the families of the houses that are already going up, let alone any more.

Thank you in advance for your concern.