Thousands of New Houses West of Broomfield!

News Update October 8^th 2007 – revised October 13^th 2007

In this update:

Thousands of Houses possible in West Broomfield

Chelmer Valley Highway probable

North Chelmsford Area Action Plan Consultation – Ends October 30^th 2007

North Chelmsford Area Action Plan Response

Yes, “thousands of new houses west of Broomfield” is precisely what was stated by Derek Stebbing, the Senior Chelmsford Borough Council (CBC) team member at the Examination in Public (EIP) October 2^nd 2007.

The Inspector was pressing to know what would happen if for some reason the Greater Beaulieu Park development did not go ahead at the rate or in the numbers proposed in the Core Strategy LDF document. Would the Council consider putting some houses at Boreham Airfield for example?

Derek Stebbing was emphatic that could not and would not be done. He then stated that in his opinion there is room for thousands of homes west of Broomfield and that would of course confirm the need for the Cross Valley Road. He then went on to state that Boreham Airfield could not be used because it has been earmarked for return to recreation when the gravel extraction is completed.

As your chairman I was sitting at the Examination and said how alarmed I was that CBC are going to spoil more Greenfield land west of Chelmsford, ruin the Chelmer Valley and not use already spoiled land at Boreham Airfield.

The CBC argue that when gravel extraction was permitted at Boreham, a condition was attached requiring the site to be restored at end-of-life for recreational purposes. However, in an exactly parallel case at the Gravel extraction on Essex Regiment Way the same CBC have set aside that requirement to return the area to recreational use in favour of granting permission for a half-a-million square feet of Car Auction site employing around 500 people.

The cat is now out of the bag. NAG have said all along that the Cross Valley Road is nothing to do with the needs of Broomfield Hospital. It’s all about creating a huge infrastructure so there can be more houses in Broomfield and west of Broomfield. We checked and double checked – the figure used by CBC was ‘thousands of new houses’.

What can we do now?

Make a great fuss in the Essex Chronicle by writing letters and complaining about this long-term notion that there may be thousands of new homes west of Broomfield.

The North Chelmsford Area Action Plan has been published for consultation. It is available here: http://www.chelmsford.gov.uk/index.cfm?articleid=14326 Please do study it carefully. NAG have not yet decided if we will hold any further public meetings. What do you think?

Respond to the North Chelmsford Area Action Plan. Note especially the cheeky questions at number 16 & 17 relating to the County Council decision about the new by-pass. The on-line form is

http://web3.chelmsfordbc.gov.uk/AF3/an/default.aspx/RenderForm/?F.Name=G8paRWYUWDf

- however, it does not provide space to answer question 16 & 17. So you will have to send in a paper response.

1. The closing date for responses is: Tuesday 30^th October 2007 by 4.45 pm.
2. We are able to offer comments and suggested responses to the North Chelmsford Area Action Plan if you request them by email. But then you probably know the answers anyway!

Broadcast far and wide to your friends just how awful is this prospect of a vast new expanse of houses in Greater Beaulieu Park and ‘thousands more’ west of Broomfield.

Please recruit new members for NAG. While we have no party-political ambitions whatsoever, it is clear that the public meeting in Broomfield Sept 6^th did highlight the awful plight of Broomfield and The Walthams and Chatham Green if the Chelmer Valley Crossing goes ahead. It is arguable that the Chelmer Valley LDF issues may have had an impact on the Ward By-Election. Email The Chairman initially if a friend wishes to be part of NAG - peterwloose@Compuserve.com

We enjoy working together – thank you all!

Peter Loose

Chairman Chelmsford North Action Group on behalf of our core Exec Team.