Option WR1

To located 600 dwellings in this location will have a major impact on the infrastructure, not just in the vicinity of it, but the whole of Rochford/Hawkwell/Ashingdon/Hockley . Before any approval is given, studies must be carried out to determine the impacts on the Rochford/Hawkwell/Ashingdon/Hockley Area and solutions found. This should include but not limited to Schools, Roads (RDC & ECC responsibility), Doctors, Dentist, increased parking, and parking/access to Rochford/Hockley Stations. The total plan must then be costed and incorporated into the development plans,this document should then be submitted for public consultation with logical schedule, costed plans, for approval

Better to develop outside current town boundary, thereby less congestion in town.

Option WR1 - WR4

Once again the report states that "The infrastructure that could be delivered within the site has the potential to benefit the wider community" How can this be substantiated and what are the potential benefits? It is not clear.

The Core Strategy requires the following infrastructure to be in implemented in developing in this location: local highway capacity and infrastructure improvements, public transport service and infrastructure improvements, Sustainable Urban Drainage Systems, and links and enhancements to local pedestrian, cycle and bridleway networks. This must include highway capacity and infrastructure improvements in Southend District which is going to bear a significant impact from this development.

Appropriate highway mitigation must be implemented to address the negative highway and traffic impacts of this proposal. It is difficult to see how this would be possible at the Ashingdon Road/Bradley Way/Hall Road mini roundabout.

Rochford town centre needs to be expanded and improved to ensure that it attracts the new residents and reduces the potential for unnecessary car journeys elsewhere. This should be at the developer's expense.

The sites should include a grocery shop/newsagent in order to reduce travelling by car.

The argument that taking this green belt for housing would have the advantage of providing a strong, defensible green belt boundary is illogical. The existing boundary could easily have been defended if it was expedient to do so.

The report is misleading. These sites are NOT close to Rochford railway station. An average distance to the station is around 1 ¼ kilometres plus any additional distance within the site. That is not close. It is a 17 to 18 minute walk at least. It is concerning when the report appears to contain bias or inaccuracy.

The sheer scale of development will add significantly to Rochford's population and put pressure on infrastructure. Of the options WR1 is best. Hall Road is not on a bus route (railway bridge) and the walk to Rochford for elderly or a mother with children will be onerous. Local transport will be the car. What Transport Plan are RDC expecting a developer to make to avoid this happening? Rochford and Hawkwell are getting closer together.

The proposed West Rochford sites do NOT have "the potential to integrate with the existing community." The small amount of existing housing is itself relatively isolated, being already effectively cut off from the town by the rail embankment. No amount of tinkering with the Ashingdon Road and other junctions can change the fact that a second village here will be virtually independent of Rochford and destined to be an effective part of South Hawkwell instead. The result will be a bisected Rochford with no cohesion and possibly even conflict between what will effectively be two neighbouring towns.

Option WR1 adjoins Rochford to the east and south but extends further west than the current built up area in this location, it therefore encroaches on the green belt and will lead to a loss of openness.

There are currently no bus routes that travel down Hall Road and the nearest ones are by the train station at West Street, at the far end of a development this would be a long walk that modern day society may not be prepared to make.

The corner of Hall Road where it meets Ashingdon Road and West Street are often a bottleneck at certain times of the day. Adding a further 600 homes at possibly 2 or more cars per home would mean an extra 1200 cars a day on this road when it normally cannot meet demand. At the other end of the development in the morning especially there is normally always a bottleneck at the junction of Cherry Orchard Way and Eastwoodbury Lane. The developer says that this stretch of road can handle 3,350 vehicles an hour (transport assessment 2.1.7) Although the developer says that improvements will be made to these two areas there is little that can be done to stop the two bottlenecks.

Being potentially close to the railway could also create a problem with commuter parking and therefore each house needs to have an appropriate allocation of parking space so that the roads can have set time zones of no parking like St Andrews Road.

The developers for the corner property of Ironwell Lane and the Ashingdon Road were supposed to rectify the problem of the lake under the railway bridge, this has not been solved and the makeshift path is not level, so pushing a pram of any sort is difficult to not get wet, with the potential developer actually keep all the promises they make? On speaking to representatives from Bellway homes( the proposed developer for this area) one person advised that there would be no flats and another said that there would be a number of 1 and 2 bedroom flats, clearly showing a lack of understanding and communication on their part.

Rochford and this area is unlikely to be able to cope with most of these dwellings being in place by 2015, within 5 years there will be an extra 450 houses in this areas alone. 58% of Rochford's development up to 2015 will be on current protected Green Belt Fields.

With Rochford being such a large district is it wise to put so many new properties in one area rather than a number of small developments that would have less impact on its surrounding area.

With this being on a flood plain will there be an increased risk to nearby housing with the increase of volume of water in the area.

There are very few jobs available in Rochford so any employment would involve commuting and therefore adding to congestion.

Having access to open play areas will mean that the groups of youths will use it to meet up in as there is nowhere else for them to go in Rochford out of hours and they can use Ironwell Lane as a quick means of escape from the police.

With the development of the airport further East of Rochford the surrounding area is going to be a lot busier anyway can it take another 600 houses here?

Rochford is planning on adding an additional 2745 homes and the only police station is open 9-5 Monday to Friday. No developer admits that there is an extra need for police with the amount of homes they intend to add and the nearest police station is Rayleigh.

There is a badger set within the area of development and any development of this scale would force the badger from its natural habitat and surrounding which is supposed to be protected.

There is no plan by the developer to landscape the houses to the east of the development that used to back on to protected green belt that will now be a housing estate.

The developer has already submitted plans for an area to be used larger than the area that has been allocated.
Many comments from the developer are very misleading such as being 400m from the train station and a 5 minute walk. If the last house on the very bottom eastern edge had direct access to Hall Road this would have to be a quick walker let alone someone from the opposite corner of the development. The frontage of the development along Hall Road is nearly 1km on its own without adding extra distance for access and manoeuvring around the numerous adjoining roads.

There is a small area of Flood Zone 2 associated with the north eastern corner of the proposed site.

Please see our general comments.

BETTER AREA FOR DEVELOPMENT NEAR TO RAIL AND ROAD LINKS. WOULD BE NEAR TO AIRPORT EXPANSION THEREBY HELPING PROVIDE NEW HOUSING NEARBY CREATING LESS OVERALL COMMUTING AND TRAVEL TIMES.

If the district needs new houses, and the new houses are targeted for first time buyers and young professionals, then this location, near Rochford train station and near existing residential settlement appears to be a good location as many commuters will be able to walk to the station rather than further congest the roads.

RE: ALLOCATIONS AND DEVELOPMENT MANAGEMENT DEVELOPMENT PLAN DOCUMENTS



Thank you for giving Anglian Water the opportunity to comment on the above document.



Please find our comments summarized on the attached document.

Various questions and comments received.

For further details see paper copy.