I am writing to register my objection to the RDC Local Plan to build between 7200 to 10,800 new homes in the Rochford district and principally in Rayleigh where the majority of new homes will be built. My general objection is to the damage to the local environment and nature with said construction on green belt and land which has been allowed to have become over grown with trees and vegetation allowing wild life to thrive. For RDC to state in their draft vision for Rochford in 2050 that Rochford will be a “green and pleasant place” is nothing short of insulting to the local residents with the proposals put forward. Rayleigh in particular cannot take on the scale of new homes being proposed and I urge Rochford District Council to rethink their current plans and instead support the Liberal Democrat alternative proposal to build a new garden village close to Fossetts Way near Southend.

My general objections to this consultation are as follows:

1. You will be destroying green belt, farming land and nature habitats; I refer specifically to your site references CFS053; CFS098 and CFS029
2. You will be destroying nature habitats in site reference CFS086, specifically badger sets, bat colonies, fox dens, squirrels and general bird and insect life.
3. The roads in Rayleigh in particular become very congested in weekday morning and early evening rush hours especially when there is the school run. In addition the roads become almost grid locked when there is a vehicle breakdown, accident or road works due to necessary emergency repair of utility services (which we have frequently). So, with the potential of 7200 new homes which will provide at a conservative estimate of over 14,000 new cars to the district I would like to know how the current road network can handle this increased volume of traffic?
4. The current utilities are creaking at the sides with the current volume of homes, specifically:
a. Electricity – we in Nelson Road experience on average around 4 power cuts per year, most recently on 15th August. How will the building of 7200 new homes help this situation?
b. Water and Sewerage – Essex Water and Anglia Water are frequent visitors to Nelson road (as recent as week commencing 23rd August) to repair their overstretched infrastructure. In particular they have attended Hamilton Mews on I would estimate at least 4 times within the past 12 months. Additionally, we had the problem in Bull Lane with water supply issues which must have been worked on for the best part of a year causing yet more traffic disruption. Clearly there is a major problem with the water and sewerage supplies in the Rayleigh area, so how can building this vast amount of new homes improve the situation with the current overstretched water and sewerage infrastructure?
5. Doctor surgeries within Rayleigh are over run now, particularly with Audley Mills which has an “open book” policy and for the older population it is becoming increasingly difficult and stressful to book an appointment. The 7200 new homes, the majority being in Rayleigh, will increase the population by an estimated 2.4 people per home, this will increase to 17,280 new people. You will need to build a new surgery the size of Audley Mills to cater for the increased volume but the amount of qualified GP’s in the UK is reducing so how would the NHS find the staff?

My Specific objections to the following sites are as follows:

CFS086 (Land between Rivendell and Brookside, Napier Road). This develop directly effects my family as from what I can understand you are considering building 11 homes at the bottom half of my garden.
a. We moved to this house in 2002 at not an inconsiderable cost and my then neighbour at No 77, Mr Franco Nicoli, had a garden that run adjacent to mine. I was aware that he owned the spare land in Napier Road but at no time was there any discussion or consultation that when he sold his house to Mr and Mrs Jones approximately 12 years ago, he was going keep the bottom half of his garden for a housing development. I would have course objected to any such proposal as it is a direct violation of our privacy in our own garden.
b. The space has become extremely over grown over the past 10 years and is now effectively a small forest which has become a home for a vast amount of wildlife which have access into my garden. These include Badgers, Foxes, Bats and we’ve even had a monk jack deer in our garden all which come from Mr Nicoli’s land. I am aware that Bats and Badgers are a protected species and I will be informing the Bat Conservation Trust to invite them at the bottom of our garden to watch them take flight at dusk.
c. Access in Napier Road. A planning request was turned down approximately three years ago due in part to limited access in and out of Napier Road, nothing has changed in turns of access as the road is extremely narrow and will allow only one vehicle width where this space of land is. With the large amount of construction vehicles, building delivers, builder’s vehicles etc the road would effectively be blocked denying access to and from Nelson road to the “Brookside” property and the house further east by the stables.
d. If it is true that RDC are planning on building 11 homes in this small plot of land they can only be classed as “affordable homes” which is totally out of context with Nelson Road which is regarded as one of the best roads in Rayleigh for quality homes.
e. Noise Pollution and loss of privacy will be a major issue for me and my neighbours with the construction of the new homes and the resulting loss of privacy following the construction of the homes.

CFS053 (Land South of 38 & 39 Wellington Road), CFS098 (Land North of Napier Road) and CFS029 (Land at Turrett Farm, Napier Road)
a. This land is green belt and should not be built on.
b. The land in CFS053 and CFS098 is at a fairly steep gradient towards the gardens in Nelson road. Certainly during the winter period we can experience heavy rainfall which causes water to cascade down the fields towards the gardens. I am concerned that with the building of a “concrete jungle” this will only heighten the problem as the rain will not have the opportunity of soaking into the sodden ground and not only will it be a problem for the outbuildings many of us have at the bottom of our respective gardens it will also be a major problem for the new homes built at the bottom of the slope.
c. As mentioned above, we are privileged to experience much nature in this area due to the surrounding fields. The removal of these fields will only do damage to the nature conservation in this area with the loss of habitats for badgers, foxes, deer, bird wild life, insects etc