SITE ASSESSMENT PROFORMA: CFS180
In relation to the ‘spatial options consultation’, I would like to request you go back to government to politely tell them where they can place their housing targets!
Not sure if you have heard about the IPCC report but WE ARE IN A CLIMATE EMERGENCY, humanity would be grateful if you would start taking action towards that instead, as it is a much bigger priority that a new local plan!
We may need our greenbelt and agricultural land to grow crops if food supplies become affected, it is madness to consider covering them in concrete! Our roads are constantly gridlocked through infrastructure neglect and surely must be at dangerous pollution levels already. Not to mention the fact that a lot of the district is expected to be under water by 2050!
In light of the above, here are my reasons for objecting to this site:

Critical Drainage Risk
3
Green Belt Harm
1

Please could I add some comments to the spatial options consultation!



Firstly, I’d like to express my concern/feedback regarding the online consultation itself:
• I felt the online setup was really badly organised and far too complicated to navigate, even for those who are quite comfortable using the internet. It deeply concerns me how many residents will not have been able to respond due to this.
• The leaflet that residents received via the post was lacking any information on how they could send their input, other than via the internet! I didn’t notice any email addresses, telephone numbers or postal address for replies, in my opinion this also excludes many residents from responding!
• I appreciate you organised pop up events around the district, however Hawkwell only had 1 option and that was during the day, this meant that workers/commuters were excluded from face to face support.
• Whilst I have had a couple of good conversations with district councillors, there are many that have been unresponsive and invisible during the consultation (specifically those in Hawkwell East who I have contacted as a resident).
• As a Parish Councillor whose colleagues are mainly of the older generation and don’t use the internet, I was quite upset to see them struggling to navigate the ridiculous amount of paperwork and information that needed printing for them, in order for us to create a council response. This leaves me worried about how our older generations within the community will have coped. Was there any support provided to our residents who might not be able to manage the consultation for themselves and that don’t have any friends or family etc to assist them?

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In relation to the actual content of the consultation, I believe that before any consideration should be given to further development, RDC need to address the issues with our existing infrastructure. Our current services (doctors/dentists etc), schools and roads all appear to be over capacity, at breaking point in some places. This is where RDC’s priorities should be. It makes no sense to me why you would issue a consultation regarding future housing development, without a full infrastructure plan in place first. In addition to this, I also strongly feel that RDC should be responding to government to negotiate a reduction/cancellation of the unrealistic housing target that has been thrust upon our already cramped district.

I have looked at many of the sites listed in the consultation and I find it extremely disturbing how many of them:
• are on green belt land, which needs to be protected at all costs as it provides vital habitats for the other species that also live on our planet (humans are not the only ones who need a home!)
• contain ancient woodland, which in my opinion is irreplaceable.
• are on agricultural sites, which if the predictions regarding the impacts of climate change and the food shortages (due to global crop failure), we may need this land for future farming.

Apart from the standard infrastructure details that I wasn’t able to locate in the consultation and I believe should have been provided (e.g. Up to date traffic assessments, statistics/reports on doctor/dental surgeries and schools, in relation to their current and predicted capacities ((based on current resident records)), I feel it is also essential that the council arranges:
• An up to date air quality assessment and associated comprehensive report – the traffic volumes have increased significantly over recent years, surely this means that pollution levels will also have increased, which can cause serious health issues for residents.
• An in-depth Flood Risk assessment – according to the ‘climate central coastal risk screening tool’ the land projected to be below annual flood level in 2050, includes a large part of the district (areas affected include Foulness, Wakering, Barling, Paglesham, Stambridge, South Fambridge, Hullbridge, Canewdon and Rochford). This worries me for many reasons:
o It means all current housing, retail sites and infrastructure in those areas could be at risk.
o It may mean that people are not able to obtain mortgages or insurance in parts of the district.
o Many homes in the district already suffer from surface flooding when we have torrential downpours, this can only get worse.

Please could I ask that instead of continuing with this consultation, you instead invest the time into lobbying government, addressing our existing infrastructure problems and planning for protection of residents, wildlife and property, from the effects of climate change.