I read with dismay your plan to inflict upon us a further 7,200 new homes in our already overcrowded area. We absolutely cannot accommodate this. Our roads are already past saturation point and cannot cope with a further 16,000 cars. what about the serious increase in air pollution? The B1013 is already the busiest and most congested B road in the country. Our doctors surgeries are at breaking point and our hospitals have waiting lists of longer than 5 years, and routine treatments have ceased all together. Staffing levels are dangerously low with no sign of improvement any time soon. Schools are full so where will 15,000 extra children be taught?

Global warming is teaching us that we need green spaces and less concrete. We need to protect our green belt. We need land for agriculture so as to grow our own food, we can no longer rely on importing food from across the world. We need to protect our wildlife and our biodiversity and above all we need to protect every tree we can, and plant millions more besides.

I suggest we get rid of the airport and use this brownfield site for housing if we absolutely have to, as the airport is a source of ongoing nuisance regards pollution and noise. The airport site has better roads around it, and is well supplied with a large supermarket and retail park opening soon. If this is not agreed upon, I suggest taking a look at Yorkshire where they have thousands of acres of open space and fewer trees would need to be destroyed for housing.


With reference to the land north of Merryfields Avenue, Hockley.

I read with dismay that this plot of land has been offered for consideration for development in the new local plan, showing space for a possible 39 new homes.

I understand this land is Metropolitan Green Belt and protects the countryside from being developed. It has tree protection orders on the larger trees and is adjacent to the Maryland Nature Reserve, which would suffer badly if development were allowed to take place here.

My property is already bordered by seven other properties, which is way too many neighbours to have to contend with, and the thought of adding more fills me with dread. It would be unreasonable and unfair. I enclose a map to illustrate this.

We need to protect green spaces now, however small, in the interests of climate change. We need to protect every tree we can as well as planting many more, so please reject this proposal, for the sake of our wildlife and biodiversity, and for the sake of my sanity.