You may have seen our letter in the Echo last week:
We were amazed to see the comments from Cllr Mavis Webster (June 12) regarding the figure of 1,800 houses for Rayleigh.
What she said was wrong and damaging to the town.
The Eastern Region has not set any housing target for Rayleigh at all. It has simply set a target for the district as a whole. It’s her Conservative colleagues on the district council who have supported a figure of 1,800 – more than the figure for Hockley, Hawkwell, Rochford and Ashingdon combined.
As in the past, the council is trying to push as much housing as possible into Rayleigh.
We know we are going to have some extra housing in Rayleigh – and we do need some for first-time buyers, but 1,800 houses is too much.
What Mrs Webster should be doing is telling the public to respond to the consultation that’s going on until July 2. Then she should publicly announce that she will vote against 1,800 houses for Rayleigh.
What’s more important to her – the town she represents, or following the Tory party line?
Chris Black
Jackie Dillnutt, Chris Lumley, June Lumley, Ron Oatham
(Lib Dem councillors)
There’s been a couple of comments added:
Posted by: Angry Constituent, Rayleigh on 11:46am today
I couldn’t believe what I was reading when the Webster/Pullen leaflet came through my door. Do they really think that the people of Rayleigh are so naive that we do not realise who is proposing that 1800 of the 3699 units should be built in Rayleigh? The new housing should be dispersed fairly throughout the region. You can access all the details on the Rochford District council website and leave your comments there, or you can visit the exhibition on Rayleigh High Street on 20 June 8am to 2pm. Don’t just accept the Tories’ version of the issue.Posted by: Dave, Under a Cloud on 2:19pm today
Even more depressing is the fact you can’t oppose all this mass building without eventually being called a ‘racist’. The Tories have even gone on record as saying that immigration and asylum don’t have an impact on housing! Either they live on another planet or they’re just too cowardly to speak up in the interests of their constituents.
What’s the point of electing conservatives who are Labour in all but name?
With regard to the last comment, nobody has accused us of being racist – and we’re not!
May be we should change the name from Rochfor DC to Rayleigh DC if we get all this huseing
I assume the reason that Rayleigh has much more development planned than Rochford is that they have more to lose in the way of votes and councillors in Rochford?
The typical comment I get from councillors in the east of the district is that they should get less housing becaus of poor transport links and lack of local employment possibilities.
It has to be said though, that with new housing concentrated over the last 10 years or so into West Rayleigh and Rawreth, and with the selling off of the Park School playing fields to create Cherry Orchard Country Park near Southend, counciillors in the east generally haven’t felt so much electoral concern on this sort of issue.