Your Comments

"I have lived in Basildon for 36 years and have enjoyed the open spaces and country parks of Dry Street and Langdon hills, I feel to loose Dry Street to more housing which cannot be accommodated with the already over crouded Basildon area would not only be a lose of the much needed country park but also be truly devasting.

I know that English Partnership have already tried to take our precious parklands and we have beaten them on all of their previous planning applications, lets hope we will win on this one, don't give up hope and fight all you can my support will always be with you."

"I cannot comprehend the developers claiming “regeneration” on an area of green belt that will be permanently lost to a district with such highly densely populated areas. Dry Street is perhaps the last country road bordering the town in an area of great natural beauty. The proposed plan will drastically alter the local environment which hosts one of the few areas for varied outdoor interests and supports a variety of flora and fauna. The proximity of the development nearby to a radically developed University Hospital Site will cause traffic congestion to the town, Dry Street and the hospital. This area provides a distinct boundary to the district of Thurrock and if we are not to be swallowed up in a creeping Thames Gateway into London we should resist the development. All along Thameside are brownfield sites from decayed industrial use whose development would be more welcome than seizing “easy to develop” green areas."

"I'm disgusted that yet more green belt land is under threat, i live in old corringham and often run along dry street. The climb up One Tree Hill is sufferable because of the joy i get from running in the lush, green, beautiful surroundings and that feeling continues, which ever direction i choose to take at the top, Dry Street. As your home page states, services are stretched as it is.
We continuously hear that a main contributor to our on going water shortages, is too much concrete, not allowing rain fall to sink in to the ground and then into the water table, so what do we do....lay some more and then build more houses to share the now even more depleted supply.
We can't get a hospital appointment, dentist, doctor, school place. We cant travel 3/4 miles without hitting a traffic jam, so what's the answer....more houses, more people, more waste, less water and less places to just walk / run / cycle and enjoy".

"My husband and I moved from London 9 years ago to get away from a concrete jungle and live near the countryside. The beauty of this area (Dry Street) cannot be emphasised enough, in fact it is a crime to even contemplate building so many houses here. If there has to be more dwellings erected then develop in the towns not ruin the beautiful fields and trees that surround us.

I own a horse and regularly use the bridleways next to the proposed building area and am a huge patriot of Longwood Riding School. I work in London Monday to Friday and it is very relaxing coming home each night and riding out at the weekend. If the government get their way then my, along with quite a few other people's, weekends will be ruined. One asks themselves where the politicians that propose these plans live and if they have similar plans to build on their doorsteps!

It is a terrible shame for the government to impose this on the Council and I will support you in any way I can."

"I'm very against this as my Horse lives at longwoods as do many others i've kept my horse there for over 10 years and have grown up here like many other children. They hold many horse shows which hundreds of people attend and enjoy."

"I cannot believe that anyone would consider building houses on this Green Belt Area. Basildon is short of such havens for wildlife and residents alike. It is a pleasure to use the Westley Heights country park and to have the benefit of the uninterrupted views. Moreover the extra traffic and general pressure on the infrastructure of the area i.e. doctors, schools and areas of space to enjoy will have a detrimental affect on all. I am strongly against this proposal and feel that there must be more appropriate "brown field" sites in the area that could be put to better use than spoiling this civic amenity"

"My parents live in Fletchers and I was brought up there and feel v strongly that the desecration of the meadows is a travesty which not only effects my parents' quality of life but everyone in Basildon and the surrounding area both in terms of destruction of an extremely valuable wildlife habitat, but also the significant increase in vehicular traffic and resulting effect on air quality + the unknown impact on the existing water and sewage networks, particularly given the widescale water shortages we are already facing in the South East."

"We strongly object to English Partnerships plan to build houses on this land. Our beautiful countryside is being destroyed in the name of 'progess'. I feel very sad that our lovely green spaces will be gone for ever."

"Does anybody out there actually have any trust in this group of people who call themselves English Partnerships?
At the Holiday Inn event I posed a few questions to a EP representative. In reply to my question 'What about traffic problems?' I was told that that was the Council's problem. In reply to my question 'What about educational provision at a secondary level?' I was told that was the proplem of the Essex Education Authority. To the question 'What about the environment and the preservation of the countryside?' I was told That's not our problem. Various departments were mentioned but it was made perfectly clear that the buck was being passed and that EP was not prepared to accept any responsibility for the above.
Does anyboby trust EP after the farce that is developing in the Gardiners Close area? So many important facilities available to the town - like its only rugby club which opens its arms to a multitude of young people (girls as well as boys), like Basildon's only representative fooball club, archery club, shooting club - are left to hang out to dry by 'caring' English Partnerships. QED."

"As residents of Rantree Fold for more than 30 years we know full well that the local infrastructure of roads, schools, health facilities and quality of life cannot be expected to have 1300 (possibly rising to 2500) additional homes forced upon it.
The green area proposed for this development is a rich environment for wildlife and a unique recreational area for the residents of Basildon. It must not be sacrificed to the monument of a central governmental diktat controlled by politicians and bureaucrats who have nothing to do with this area and of course will not suffer any of the noise and congestion generated by this worthless and ill-thought out plan."

"Just wanted to write to say that I strongly object to the plans to build near Dry Street. It would cause all sorts of problems and spoil the currently peaceful, pretty walks that I frequently make in this area. Basildon and Laindon are already overloaded!"

"Although I've onley lived here for 3 years, I've got used to the green land around me. I love taking long walks around here, to the oak tree, to the park, every where you can walk. Its not just me that loves walking up here its my sister my mum my dad my friends and most of all my dog, he loves snifing for knew things around him, it would be a desaster if he could'nt have walks any more. I think that they should not build houses on dry street or any other green land they want 2 build on."

"My family have lived in Fobbing for over sixty years, and some still do. Although I now live in Spain, my husband and I visit our family often and consider it a travestry to allow a large estate of 1300 houses to be built in Dry Street. There are not many areas of natural beauty left for people to enjoy, and walk their dogs, so why do the the 'powers that be' only see '£' signs when considering new 'building sites'.

While everyone is entitled to a home of their own, the bigger picture never seems to be well thought out. I have worked in Basildon Hospital and spent many mornings in traffic jams on most of the roads leading to Basildon. There are not enough facilities now to cater to the existing population of Basildon and surrounding areas and however many promises are made to facilitate a new housing area they never seem to be fulfilled. As an ex-pat who may one day want to move back to a lovely area of Essex I am vehemently opposed to the desecration of Dry Street and sincerely hope that this project will not be allowed to go through."

"We have had the priveledge of visiting friends in Fletchers from Australia for over 30 years. Green fields are at a premium all over the world, we should preserve our precious farmlands, greenfields, grasslands, and persue housing development in land already allocated for that purpose, increasing population density in areas already designed for that purpose with support services in water,power, sewerage, roads & curbs, communications etc. Greenactiongroup, we support you in your endeavors."

"I have read with horror the proposals for 1300 new houses in Dry St. This is an area of amazing animal richness and diversity and simply cannot be allowed to be destroyed.
I agree that more housing is required to support the every fragmenting population however there must be a balance. In addition Dry St is a very small carriageway and hardly fit the name of a Street, more a Lane in my opinion, and one that will not support 1300 + potential cars daily."

"As a resident of Kingswood, I have to use the hospital roundabout at 8.30 each morning to get to work. If there are no problems on the A127 or A13, the queue to the hospital is on the roundabout anyway. If there are problems on the main roads - FORGET IT! There is gridlock from the Five Bells to the town centre. There is no way that they can have an access road to "Basildon's Chafford Hundred" (remember how small that little estate started?) from that roundabout.
How on earth would the ambulances get access to and from the hospital during construction and of course after!!

The local senior school that any teenage children would attend, would be Woodlands. They are already overwhelmed with applications for students. There is no room.

I was born in Kingswood, and it upsets me greatly that even more of our countryside is being swallowed up. We, as a town has grown so much, those who make these great decisions wouldn't want all this on their doorstep, so why do they insist on putting it on ours?"

"I read the flyers that you placed around the Country Park at Langdon Hills recently and I must admit I was immediately horrified by the thought that this beautiful little spot, in the midst of what is fast becoming a concrete jungle, should disappear forever. Since the early 1960s the whole area around Basildon has already been slowly eroded away and, when I think of how it all looked just 40 years ago, it is shameful. What is left of the Essex countryside is something that should be nurtured and we should be proud of it. Yet, everywhere I travel I see more housing being built on what was once a green area. How long can the diverse and rich abundance of wildlife with which we share our lives in this county continue? We are slowly destroying their environment and we will soon have nothing but a few football fields and golf courses for our children to inherit. The proposed project MUST NOT be allowed to succeed.

While I understand the need to build more homes, particularly affordable homes, I do not see the need to build them on such an immense scale in what is already a highly populated area and thus destroy the little piece of countryside we have left in this part of Essex. It truly is a beautiful part of our county and it must be protected at all costs. I therefore fully endorse the opposition to this proposal and you can count on me to support your actions to prevent planning permission."

"I was born in Laindon/Langdon Hills, mum and dad lived in an area with wide open spaces and us kids grew up with out a care in the world. Then we had this horrible nightmare when somebody told us a new town was going to be built on our wide open spaces, called Basildon. So along came these men in there grey suites with there compulsory purchase orders and removed alot of people, who I must say did not want to go. But who would.

As for us we had to move. The grey suited men wanted mum and dads house too. So we moved to Langdon Hills. Once again to the wide open spaces, by this time I had a few more brothers and sisters. I must say this was the best time of my life,

Dry street was our play ground, along with all the woods around there. The masses of blue bells we use to pick for mum, goodness knows what she did with them all. This area is part of my heritage , a part I will never forget. So leave it alone. But once again along came these men in there grey suites and there bits of paper to move people on and our open spaces shrank, until Dry Street was left and a small portion of woods also.

So you men in your grey suites with money to burn need to take a long look around you and think what you are leaving for our children and our children's children. Because in the last 60 years the area known as Basildon, Laindon and Langdon Hills has become an extention of London and has no where left for children to explore or experience the environment as my brothers, sisters and friends did when I was a boy.

Even though I now live in Australia, where my might say there are lots of wide open spaces to explore, my thoughts often drift back to my wonderful childhood in a time of exploration and fun."

"I moved from Basildon and its travel problems, many years ago as I could see what the future held, with over development. However, I have many relatives who still live in Basildon including my eldest son and my sister in law who has been there since the first phase was built and would never move out because she loves it there as do her three generations of family that are resident there.

When as a young family with little money we often escaped to the country side many Sundays through out the seasons was spent exploring one tree hill. It holds great and happy memories."

"I can see no positive aspects to English Partnership's plan. It will take away our "green lung", create more pollution and put unbearable pressure on the existing infrastructure and services."

"I wasn't brought up in Essex, I come from Hertfordshire and moved here originally to work. I grew to love Essex and have walked the local countryside with my dogs for over 20 years now. The thing that appealed to me about Basildon originally was the fact that I didn't feel as if I was in a large town because there were so many green places but over the years these have steadily been built on and I have seen a large section of a local recreation ground and delightful shady paths disappear under new housing.

To build on Dry Street would be criminal and I wholeheartedly support your campaign to stop the desecration of this land by people who only care about making a profit. I understand that people think it is the fault of the Government which is Labour but they should bear in mind that it also involves the local Council which is Conservative (they have plans afoot to build on Gloucester Park as well). This isn't political - it's about making money.

The Dry Street land is beautiful, home to a large variety of birds and animals, and if built on would be a tremendous loss which can never be replaced."

"I don't live in the immediate area, but I use it a great deal. It would be a great shame for it to be 'developed', ie. built on, as so much of the green areas around have been over the last ten years. I
understand that there are already problems with school places, and know from personal experience how long you can wait for a hospital appointment, without adding thousands more people.

Presumably Dry Street would have to be widened, to cope with the traffic.It may seem a bit NIMBY, but I like having the countryside so close, and don't want to see it disappear."

"I have a cunning plan. Mr Blackadder of English Partnerships has a problem; how does he convince the local people of Basildon and Basildon Council that by selling the land for housing development in Dry Street that it will be ‘good for Basildon and will then raise a £ trillion for English Partnerships?

‘Well Baldrick, how can we do it’?

‘I have a cunning plan sir’

‘Ah’ Baldrick, out with it then man’

‘They have a huge traffic problem, traffic queues up everyday from the A13 turnoff all the way to Basildon Town Centre and the roundabout by the hospital get chocked with traffic and it makes it difficult to get in and out of the hospital’

‘So’

‘My cunning plan sir, is we improve the roundabout by the Hospital, build 1,300 houses and make the access to them via the Hospital roundabout for the majority of the homes, that way people will know we care and improving the roundabout will allow us to build the homes and claim that it will solve the traffic problem’.

‘Eh, Baldrick, very cunning indeed, so by improving the roundabout and adding all the additional traffic to the improved roundabout everybody turning left to Basildon Town Centre, will be backed up even more because of the sheer volume of traffic on the new improved roundabout and won’t even be able to get to the A13 because of all the people wanting to use the new improved roundabout even if they want to go to Basildon Town Centre or Basildon generally and in addition even more people will be backed up from the A13 and access to the hospital will take even longer from there’. Emergency vehicles wont’ even be able to get out during the peak period, let alone get into the ruddy hospital. It will be 10 times worse’.

‘Correct sir’

‘Baldrick, you are a bloody idiot, fetch me my tea and biscuits!’

"Considering - water supply, traffic & transport, education, health care, waste management, energy & environmental pollution - how can a massive increase to the density of population in an already over populated area with an already grossly overstretched infrastructure, by any stretch of the imagination, be sustainable?

Thames Gateway Partnership development plans to build around 43.000 new homes, and to create over 45,000 new jobs in South Essex. One company alone is proposing to build more than 4,000 new houses in Basildon & Thurrock. The effect of this will inevitably be to dramatically increase the density of population in the area.

The consequences of increased population density would be to stretch the transport, education and health care infrastructure beyond breaking point. There will no doubt be an increase in the production of waste that will have to be managed, also more private and business vehicles, polluting and burning CO2 emitting fossil fuels, on local roads; these vehicles will also require parking facilities. Rather than solving a housing problem these proposals would effectively increase the density of population and bring the problems of crime, homelessness and degradation that all too often occur in areas of high population density. Another challenge to be faced would be the increased demand on water supply. According to BBC’s Costing the arth - “…the water supplies of South-East England are already stretched to breaking point every summer so what happens when climate change brings drier winters and hotter summers? Where is the water to come from to supply the proposed extra homes?"

Essex is one of the highest risk areas for flooding in the country, because of its low altitude and is also sinking at the rate of one centimetre a year. The Thames presents a high risk of flooding and could funnel a surge of several meters high. The risk and effect of flooding becomes greater when permeable land is built over. Added to this is the fact of climate change and rising tides
increasing the likelihood of a tidal surge flooding the Thames Valley.

With regard to all of the above who in their right mind would contemplate building a 1,000 plus housing estate between Dry Street and Lee Chapel South, putting everyone at greater risk, diminishing the quality of life and benefiting no one, least of all the well established wildlife in this area of proposed destruction.

English Partnerships should be ashamed to have even mentioned it!"

"WHO DO THEY THINK THEY ARE!! to take our littlle piece of nature away - will we become like London with just the odd parks here and there and all our natural space built on. Basildon may be a so - called new town but we have got a piece of history right here on our doorsteps and a very beautiful one it is indeed.

I only discoverd the lovely walks around the whole of the nature reserve about a year ago - the proposed development area being one of the most breath taking views of them all. Now when I jog pass or walk my dog I could cry to think all I could be seeing in the very near future is roof tops. Has the world gone mad is nothing sacred anymore?

Basildon council has got a lot to answer for they should have passed that area a long time ago as green belt and they did nothing the whole thing stinks to me - I ask myself who's scratching who's back? I am passionate about stopping this development please everybody we need to make stand it's not too late - yet!"

"I would like to add my voice to the protest which is taking place regarding the proposed housing development on the site of Longwood Stables. I am absolutely opposed to anymore large scale building of housing because I feel that Basildon Town has reached an optimum size for the comfort and well being of its inhabitants. The infrastructure and services although creaking here and there, by and large just about function. Anymore large scale development would put the present population under very serious strain. Furthermore I strongly object to decisions being made about my town, and my area, by people who do not live in this area, and do not have the best interests of the Basildon people as part of their priority. I reiterate. I AM MOST STRONGLY OPPOSED TO ANY LARGE SCALE DEVELOPMENT OF HOUSING AROUND BASILDON, IT IS QUITE BIG ENOUGH."

"We would like to add our support to this campaign, We feel that the area cannot support this ammount of houses, and the increase in traffic that it will generate. we have a water problem as it is without extra demands on a system that cant cope now, the whole infrastructure will change if this development is allowed to proceed. what will happen to the people and horses at longwood."

"As a Fobbing resident, I fully support your opposition to the proposed development which, if it were to go ahead, would result in the loss of valuable archaic features and wildlife habitat. The destruction of beautiful scenery and secluded places to walk and enjoy must be stopped. It's essential to have space a stone's throw away from the hustle and bustle that modern life inflicts upon us."

"We would just like to say that we are thoroughly disgusted with this plan of the Government to take away the only green area where we can walk our dogs and meet other people who are just walking or running and enjoying the countryside. Why do we have to put up with this bullish behaviour from people who more than likely do not even live in this area. What can be done to stop this happening. Or is too late have the powers that be already got the wheels in motion. We would like to add our names to your petition".

"This plan by English Partnerships to build well over 1000 dwellings on the site between Dry Street and Lee Chapel South is unbelieveably naive.
You only have to look at the traffic in Nethermayne during the rush hour, especially vehicles trying to get into and out of the Hospital at certain times to realise that the roads simply cannot cope; they should bear in mind that to some patients in ambulances this is a life and death situation where speed is of the essence. In short Dry Street cannot cope with extra traffic, Nethermayne cannot cope now and The Knares cannot cope with extra traffic. This plan, if it goes ahead, will grid-lock much of the area.
Other services (Dentists, Schools, Doctors, Shops, public transport) Will they be able to cope? I suspect not!"

"i live in felmore and every thing gos on there and i do not feel safe at all there becos i have had a lot of bikes nick of me when i was on them and the police did not wonner no so what will thay do with all the new homes thay are bulding thay will find it very hard to cope with it and the firemen will not cope and the schools

i go to Langdon Hills and One Tree Hill to get a way from it all and i feel safe up there becos there is not meney pepple working or rideing there bike" "and i can think better up there"

"AS WE ARE HEARING IN PRESS, NEWS PAPERS , And From THIS Labour goverment That we are running out of three vital resources would it be advisable to go ahead with this development I am aware that people have to live somewhere but dont you thing you should find somewhere else rather than on 95 acres of Basildon Green Fields"

"I support your campaign against this appalling proposal.
Cannot the land be bought for the area using National Lottery funding and then handed over to the Essex Wildlife Trust to add to their existing land in the area? It may be necessary to allow greater public access and provide educational facilities but this will be of much greater benefit to the community than a completely unsustainable development which will only add to the existing problems of poor infrastructure, over development, inadequate and failing schools and social problems that currently afflict Basildon and make much of it very unpleasant, if not actually dangerous."

"I am fully in support of opposition to this proposal. As a local resident I am sick of the continual erosion into Basildon's green areas. This area to the north of Dry Street forms a buffer zone between the Country Park and existing intensive housing and as such is an important feeding ground for some of the wildlife in the Country Park. If this area is removed there will be a knock on effect with subsequent reduction in biodiversity within the Country Park itself.
I am willing to support a petition or other action to prevent planning permission for this scheme."