Comments on behalf of Mr A C E Kingston in response to the Council's public consultation on the Core Strategy Preferred Options document, dated October 2008, to form part of the Local Development Framework of Rochford District Council.

It is noted with interest the Council's acceptance that some Green Belt land will need to be released and 70% of new housing is to be on green field sites, as sustainable extensions to existing settlements within the plan period 2001 - 2021. Our client notes also that the Council accept there are insufficient brownfield sites within the District to meet projecting housing needs and, therefore, Green Belt land will need to be released.

Our client supports the Council's preferred option for the distribution of land for new housing broadly in accordance with the key diagram, so as to avoid the over intensification of existing residential areas, in accordance with H1.

The approach of focusing new housing development on the higher tier settlements, including Rayleigh, Rochford/Ashingdon, and Hockley/Hawkwell is supported, as part of the proposed balanced strategy. In this respect our client notes Rayleigh is the only first tier settlement which is classed as a principal town centre and has the best services within the District.

Our client is in broad support of the Council's Preferred Option for the General Location and Phasing of future housing development, as set out in H2, which is to include a significant element of new housing within the south west Rayleigh area. However, it is suggested that, in view of the above mentioned sustainable advantages of Rayleigh, together with the uncertainties of longer term housing demand, it is appropriate to consider a provision for some additional housing within the south west Rayleigh area for the post 2021 period.

This area is felt to have more potential than currently indicated in the table forming part of H2 and our client therefore asks for the Preferred Options table of H2 & Option H3 relating to the general location for housing post 2021, to be modified accordingly. This would provide a more balanced growth for Rayleigh in the long term, particularly taking into account accessibility to the town centre.

The Council's intention to satisfy future housing demand mainly by developing green field sites situated on the fringe of the main urban areas within the western part of the District will inevitably require the release of some of the existing Green Belt. Our client therefore suggests GB1 needs to be amended, since the stated intention of this option, to seek to direct development away from the Green Belt, is considered to be in conflict with the controlled balanced release of some Green Belt land, which is clearly unavoidable as an integral part of the Councils stated future Core Strategy.

Our client notes the Council intend to give priority to the release of Green Belt land which contributes least towards the purposes of the Green Belt over other Green Belt locations. In this respect our client's land within the south west Rayleigh area represents an infill between established urban areas which would not visually encroach into the open countryside or result in the merging of neighbouring settlements.