The District Council is apparently still processing the responses to their recent public consultation. Every day a few more are written up on their website. and they are overwhelmingly against the Council’s proposals.
Here’s a couple of examples :
This one just about says it all:
385 OBJECT
Rayleigh itself cannot support 1800 more new homes, and the Rawreth Lane side has ALREADY been over developed. It seems that until every inch is covered by houses it wont stop. The people of Downhall and Rawreth have voted via the local elections against this over development but I feel very strongly that the local peoples opinion counts for nothing. We lost Park School site to housing and ASDA, the otherside of Rayleigh gained a country park – where are the children, especially seniors going to go, our schools are already full. Traffic in Rawreth Lane/Hullbridge Road area is a nightmare. We have a gym but why no swimming pool? We have no community centre either. And the subject of affordable housing for essential worker’s, what a joke! Flats that my policeman son and two nephews cannot afford. These flatsfor essential workers have been sold to people who are not even moving in before renting them out to anyone. How does this work?Jobs – Imperial Park Industrial Estate – you have forced Coultard Welding out because the people in the flats on the Reed Nursery Site complained about the noise. Nash Tackel will be next because of the smell. How many more will go! Mind you you could always put up more houses or flats . We on this side of Rayleigh are being overdeveloped by new build. Our families are being priced out of the area and any green space lost. I believe even the utility companies have said that they would not be able to cope with all these properties. WE HAVE HAD ENOUGH!
Menawhile Rayleigh Civic Society have come out in SUPPORT of the council’s proposals – even though they have misgivings. Did they really mean to support this?
443 SUPPORT Rayleigh Civic Society
We have two major concerns:
The addition of 1800 housing units will presumably be a mixture of flats and houses. The encroachment of the Green Belt to accommodate these units must be resisted, we accept some relaxation might be necessary, but Brown field sites must be exploited to the full to minimise erosion of the Green Belt.
The figure of 1800 units means an increase of 4000+ population. We wish to express our great concern that there only vague references in the core strategy to the infrastructure. This increase in population means enlargement of the sewage system, the road system, public transport, schools, and health.
We support the preferred options relating to housing but question why 1800 units have been allocated to Rayleigh which has already had over 600 units built in the Rawreth area over the past 5+ years.
This is great stuff and why we must not lose momentum over the Summer. A few more letters in the Echo, get people to write directly to the local councillor or MP. These people would then have to take what we feel seriously. It would also make developers think twice before buying land in the district. Many of these developers believe they have God given rights to build and make huge amounts of money at our expense, well they dont and its up to us, the residents, to show them they have a fight on their hands!
Hi Mike
The consultations on the “Housing Target” (LDF) have shown that the public is overwhelmingly against further loss of Green Belt. But did they realise that 67% of the population of Rochford District cannot afford private rental and home ownership? Most likely, No.
During last week a review team made up of Councillors and Officers from other local authorities visited Rochford District Council. The review team undertook a review, not an inspection.
The Council has been reminded by the IDeA Review Team that it must look again at its own published data on Affordable Housing.
“A Housing Needs Survey was completed in 2004 and it identified that 67% cannot afford private rental and home ownership is beyond the reach of 75% of concealed households, even though nearly 40% of them earn over £25,000 p.a.The Survey established an outstanding net total need for 291 affordable homes per annum. It is clear from the study that there is too little affordable housing in the district to satisfy local needs.”
Over 15 years that means 4,500 affordable homes.
The current Government target for Rochford District for the same period is an additional 3700 houses. But the Rochford District Council is only proposing 30% of that figure based on each new development over 25 houses contributing 30%. There will be an affordable homes deficit of around 3,300 homes.
I won’t repeat the rest of my article but it is here if you wish to read and comment.
http://www.girltalk.pcs-net.com/rol/the-big-rochford-debate-affordable-housing-a-priority-in-rochford-district/
John, Thanks for the note. The Council, I would have thought, were duty bound both morally and legally, to help the less well off of the district. All I can see happening is more housing going to the better off and the the real young people of this district feeling completely demoralised. Now I am not naming anyone or saying that people in local government are filling their boots BUT there are a lot of developers out there getting their hands on good land and building, not for the first time buyer but for the second or third time buyer or worse for the buy to rent brigade. The council will not have a handle on who gets these houses. Planning application comes in, planning application is passed END OF STORY for the council . Do they know who buys the houses, not on your life.
THIS COUNCIL IS MORALLY DEAD. Lets put a stop to it in the next election and elect people who actually CARE about the people who need a hand in life.
Apologies for my last comment. It was not meant to be a sweeping comment for all the good, caring grass root councillors. It was for the people at the top of the ‘food chain’ who are more concerned with their political career than looking after the people of Rochford district.
Admission of the night from Shaun Scrutton, Head of ‘Planning’ and Transportation, RDC (at the West Area Committee meeting). When asked by a member of the public to come up with an approximate figure of the new dwellings built in Rayleigh so far in 2007. Err cannot give a figure until December 2007 as we (RDC) do not MONITOR how many houses are being built. MAY BE that by December 2007 we may be on our way to 1800 new dwellings. Do we really want someone who does not have a clue what is going on in charge of development. I do not think so.
More later.