I want to send my objections to the following local planning options that are being put up for consideration:
CFS045 (Hawkwell, 152 houses)
CFS064 (Hockley, 214 houses)
CFS160 & CFS161 (Hockley, 124 houses)
CFS194, CFS169, CFS150 & CFS020 (Hawkwell, 801 houses)

My objections to these local planning options are as follows:

Infrastructure/Highway issues – they all would be leading out to the same main road (B1013) which already gets severe traffic, especially during rush hour. The roads are already unable to handle the existing traffic so adding a major amount of additional housing would cause even further issues. In addition, the state of the roads are also bad in some more heavily used areas and are damaged on a regular basis needing regular repair whether temporary or permanent. Due to where the sites are, it’s likely many households would drive to get to any workplace locally, or to stations/schools as none some to be on local public transport routes as of yet bar the main road.

Wildlife/nature issues – something noticeably seen since the pandemic stated was the amount of nature we have in the local area, and the animals and other creatures that live in it. Even more noticeable is the amount of animals that now are having to venture further out of the woodland/fields and are subsequently injured/killed by the increased traffic since lockdown ended. I feel that further building in these areas would displace the animals further, reducing the amount of natural wildlife in the area and the beauty of living in the ‘countryside’. It would also cause further local pollution in the area, both whilst building and with the additional traffic so for nature it’s a lose-lose situation.

Location/loss of public footpaths – as a large number of houses are being put forward in some of these areas, it’s going to cause areas of localised congestion before it gets onto the main road (B1013) causing further congestion there. The large fields being considered are currently used as public areas for dog walking, running, horse riding etc so takes away these areas causing more people traffic in other areas on top of adding further people traffic to the shops and high street. It puts more pressure on the local shops as well, which can be very busy in peak times. Areas around Clements Hall are regularly used by pedestrians, cyclists, horses etc as well as outdoor exercise activities at the leisure centre which is quite enjoyable, but would be less so with more housing in this rea.

Affordability/schooling – always a concern is the ‘affordability’ of the houses being built, what the split is on type of housing being built (flats, maisonettes, terraced, semis and detached, bungalows etc) and whether this is actually affordable for not only the people already living locally but also others looking to move away from London for a better standard of living. Are the houses truly going to be affordable, or will they sit vacant for a long time like other developments in the area as they realistically arent affordable for the majority? This is a sought after area many families want to live in for the good schools and the local amenities and ease of access to London as well as countryside/beach areas. Putting in more housing is likely to cause an influx of families who are looking to upgrade, potentially young professionals as first time buyers who eventually will have families of their own.. is this housing really going to be affordable for them? The amount of houses being built may cause a huge supply/demand issue that effects the price of other housing in the area for those that already live here and may want to move elsewhere, likely for the worse as supply becomes greater than demand for specific ‘affordable’ housing. Schools are only going to be more and more populated and in high demand, are there also new schools being built alongside all this housing?

All in all, the amount of housing being suggested is not going to maintain the village life that Hockley, Hawkwell and other villages around truly enjoy and appreciate, as well as cause even further traffic issues than the area already has. It’s going to ruin the area for local wildlife, take away public areas for leisure activities, cause greater air and noise pollution and put greater strain on the schools and nurseries, potentially increasing prices to make them unaffordable for families due to high demand.

Please accept this email as objectives to the planning options listed, as well as others in the Hockley/Hawkwell area that I may not have mentioned.