Petition is successful with 5,426 signatures
To: Council Leader, Castle Point Borough Council
Stop The Local Plan - Save Castle Point from Ruin
A great success story
Castle Point needs a fair, effective, sound and legal Local Plan and should have already had one in place for many years. What it does NOT need is the Local Plan that is currently under consideration. This Local Plan if passed and adopted will ruin Castle Point forever.
Here are just some of the failings in the Local Plan (This not an exhaustive list)
- NO proper public consultation was conducted for this Local Plan
- Widespread destruction of green belt by being developed with thousands of homes (upper limit on each proposed green belt site has now been removed)
- Loss of bio diversity and natural habitat and places for wildlife to live
- Removal of land/stables where horses can be kept
- Over populating Castle Point when it is already one of the most populated boroughs in Essex relative to its small land area. It does not deal properly with the fact that Castle Point has a static ageing population
-The Objectively Assessed Need number of homes is much too high and the planned amount of housing is much too high. The Borough is constrained by a lack of land supply which is a legitimate reason for a Local Plan to not meet the need (The Inspector confirmed this at Hearings June 2021)
- The existing over crowded road network can not sustain more traffic from the large scale housing planned
- Current healthcare is over stretched in Castle Point and properly staffed provision is not catered for in local plan for the massive increase in population
- The infrastructure can not cope with what is proposed in the Local Plan
- Castle Point MP Rebecca Harris says the Local Plan is unsound.
- Central government policy is to protect and enhance Green Belt not to destroy it with development as this Local Plan seeks to do on a vast scale.
Is there a better alternative to this current proposed Local Plan?
Yes there is! Every area needs homes for residents to live in and every area needs a Local Plan that allows for this and the appropriate infrastructure. Some areas like Castle Point are "constrained" by factors beyond their control. In the case of Castle Point it has a small area of space, it is already one of the densest populations in Essex, part of it's land area is in Island below sea level, it has a finite amount of road network which is already congested, it has over stretched healthcare and education so there are limits to how many more homes it can build and accommodate sensibly. It does have some brown field sites and could cope with a Local Plan but with homes being built but on a far lower scale. Another important factor is that the homes that are built meet the needs of Castle Point. The area has a virtually static and ageing population. There is a demand for affordable housing and accommodation for elderly people. These needs should be met by a sensible, sound and legal Local Plan that is focussed on the needs of existing residents instead of the ambitions of property developers.
Here are just some of the failings in the Local Plan (This not an exhaustive list)
- NO proper public consultation was conducted for this Local Plan
- Widespread destruction of green belt by being developed with thousands of homes (upper limit on each proposed green belt site has now been removed)
- Loss of bio diversity and natural habitat and places for wildlife to live
- Removal of land/stables where horses can be kept
- Over populating Castle Point when it is already one of the most populated boroughs in Essex relative to its small land area. It does not deal properly with the fact that Castle Point has a static ageing population
-The Objectively Assessed Need number of homes is much too high and the planned amount of housing is much too high. The Borough is constrained by a lack of land supply which is a legitimate reason for a Local Plan to not meet the need (The Inspector confirmed this at Hearings June 2021)
- The existing over crowded road network can not sustain more traffic from the large scale housing planned
- Current healthcare is over stretched in Castle Point and properly staffed provision is not catered for in local plan for the massive increase in population
- The infrastructure can not cope with what is proposed in the Local Plan
- Castle Point MP Rebecca Harris says the Local Plan is unsound.
- Central government policy is to protect and enhance Green Belt not to destroy it with development as this Local Plan seeks to do on a vast scale.
Is there a better alternative to this current proposed Local Plan?
Yes there is! Every area needs homes for residents to live in and every area needs a Local Plan that allows for this and the appropriate infrastructure. Some areas like Castle Point are "constrained" by factors beyond their control. In the case of Castle Point it has a small area of space, it is already one of the densest populations in Essex, part of it's land area is in Island below sea level, it has a finite amount of road network which is already congested, it has over stretched healthcare and education so there are limits to how many more homes it can build and accommodate sensibly. It does have some brown field sites and could cope with a Local Plan but with homes being built but on a far lower scale. Another important factor is that the homes that are built meet the needs of Castle Point. The area has a virtually static and ageing population. There is a demand for affordable housing and accommodation for elderly people. These needs should be met by a sensible, sound and legal Local Plan that is focussed on the needs of existing residents instead of the ambitions of property developers.
Why is this important?
It is so important for people to stand up for the area for Castle Point. Sadly the leading group of councillors are acting against the interests of existing residents and the environment. If a stand is not made now things will go from bad to worse. Time is running out before Castle Point may be ruined forever.
