Option E24

Options E23 and E24 (Tithe Park) are the most sustainable options when considered against the other alternatives (Options E19 - E22).

Although we would anticipate the employment land being located to the west of the Tithe Park site, adjoining Southend and not to the north as indicated in the Allocations DPD.

The Tithe Park site is available, deliverable, and suitable for development. It is owned solely by our clients and can be brought forward for development at short notice. To our knowledge there are no major obstacles to development of the site, which is currently in an agricultural use, but, in the past has been the subject of brickearth extraction, which has reduced its agricultural quality.

By virtue of its location, the development of Tithe Park for employment purposes will have a lesser impact on the landscape and openness of the green belt than the other options around Great Wakering because Tithe Park adjoins Southend to the south and west, and Poynters Lane to the north. Defensible green belt boundaries can be provided whereas the other potential sites are more open in aspect and this development could therefore have a greater impact on the green belt.

Furthermore the other potential sites are situated in close proximity to the Local Wildlife Site at Great Wakering, whereas Tithe Park is some distance from this.
Local shops and services are within easy distance of Tithe Park and can provide services for prospective employees. These include the amenities at Great Wakering (Co-op supermarket, pubs, restaurants etc.) and the shopping and associated facilities at the Asda superstore, Southend.

Residents of Great Wakering will be easily able to access the site as it is located within a c.800 metre walk (10 minutes). However, the site will also be more accessible to those commuting from outside Great Wakering by public transport because Shoeburyness Railway Station is closer to Tithe Park than Great Wakering, cycling, and there are bus stops situated.

These options (E23, & E24) would involve a single parcel (of varying size and shape), to the south of Poynters Lane, detached from Great Wakering by existing agricultural land, and would abut the existing built-up area of Southend. These options would not have defensible boundaries and would result in coalescence with the built-up area of Southend, contrary to PPG2.

In addition, these locations would be further away from public transport and existing services and facilities than the existing industrial estate that it seeks to replace, which means that it would be in not as sustainable location. The locations of commercial accommodation in the proposed location would not accord with the locational requirements detailed within the policies of PPS4.

As Star Lane Industrial Estate is a sustainable location, a better approach would be to redevelop the industrial park with a commercial scheme with a design of unit that is flexible enough to accommodate a range of employment uses.

The idea of de-allocating land in a sustainable location in order that it can be allocated for housing and then identifying new employment sites in less sustainable locations than the existing site is a contradiction.

The preference for future employment and housing provision should be to take a co-ordinated approach to the release of Green Belt land, and the requirements for employment and housing land considered together to limit the potential loss of Green Belt to the most sustainable locations, accessible by a range of means (including public transport), and with defensible boundaries.

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.