Community Facilities

I have looked very carefully at the proposal in the Framework document and would like you to consider the following when making your decisions.

1. Housing

I consider option WLR1 to be the better option for the 550 homes currently planned. This would retain the farmland and open spaces. It would also keep some of the traffic away from the London Road which is already a busy road and is very congested at peak times. However there would need to be considerable improvements to the infra structure and amenities to support this level of occupation.

I also understand that a further 220 homes are proposed for the Rawreth Industrial Estate when it is relocated. However this building plan is not in the document.

2. Traveller/Gypsy sites

While I appreciate that you are obligated to make provision for travellers I think it would be a mistake to provide one huge site encompassing 15-18 pitches as this could lead to the same sort of problems experienced in Crays Hill. Travellers, in the main, do not want to integrate with the local population but may be more inclined to do so if the sites are smaller and dotted around the area so that no one community has to bear to total impact.GT1 and GT7 offer the best option but perhaps they could be smaller than indicated.

3. Industrial Areas

E18 seems to be the best option for a new industrial area. It is close to the A127, the A1245 and the A130 and is more suitable for the heavy lorries which would need to access the site. The existing Rawreth Industrial Estate could be relocated here and there would be space for additional businesses too.

4. Town Boundaries

I love our town and would like to keep the town boundaries as they are. It is a thriving area and in my opinion recent improvements made by the council have helped. However access to the town from London Road is restricted to Crown Hill and London Hill, both of which are very congested at peak times. Let us keep this as a shopping area. Adding more offices and other types of business will not improve our town.

5. Open Spaces and Leisure Facilities

When considering this amount of development you must ensure that there are ample leisure and sports facilities for the population together with the woods and walks we currently enjoy. Without them the area will turn into a concrete jungle containing a lot of miserable and unfit people.

6. Medical Matters

While not in your document, consideration should be given to the health of residents. Currently our doctors' surgeries are at full capacity and only available four and a half days a week, so provision should be made for at least one other surgery. The site of the Off License on London Road (which is now closed) would make an ideal area for a community clinic there being off road parking space which is not available close to the clinic in Eastwood Road.

I believe that a vital necessity for Rayleigh is to have an updated multi purpose clinic. The current clinic in Eastwood Road is very difficult to get to whether walking, driving there - as you must know.

My thinking of a suitable location is to construct a clinic on the land in front of the Rosedale Nursing House in Hockley Road - It could be designed to accommodate staff and patient cars. A roundabout should be built to control vehicles and pedestrian crossings at appropriate points for safety.

Obviously I am unaware of the current position of this area but the Eastwood Road Clinic is a very dangerous siting for unwell patients to use.

No doubt such a new building could operate more medical requirements for the public than the Eastwood Clinic!