MM36

South Colchester does not have the infrastructure to deal with this development. And to create that infrastructure would mean destroying more precious habitat.

Middlewick Ranges is a diverse environment that should be preserved for future generations and nature.

I think the majority of Colchester residents would like the Middlewick to be a nature reserve to preserve the biodiversity that has existed there for many years.

The area around Middlewick is already over populated which causes regular traffic problems. Any housing development would impact on this as there is no available space for significant road improvements.

No building on the open countryside where there are protected species.

Our open spaces need to be retained for the enjoyment of the community and for the protected species that are in that area. Colchester roads are very overcrowded and a review of the road systems need to be made to accommodate all the new development already in the areas around Colchester before more traffic is added to them.

The plan needs to be dropped, since more houses will bring more motor vehicle traffic along the road and to Lidl, making life for existing residents intolerable.

I moved here into REDACTED in 1995 not long before the Co-op was built. Since that time I have seen traffic flow along the road increasing significantly. More so since Lidl opened. Nowadays it can be very difficult to exit my driveway or cross the road. Traffic presence is much greater than it used to be and noise pollution makes it difficult to sleep with windows open. Increasing numbers of electric vehicles will not resolve this. Presently at peak times vehicles often queue along the road and pollution from vehicle exhausts is very noticeable. This is unlikely to reduce.

The plan has to be withdrawn due to lack of road infrastructure.

I live on REDACTED which will be badly affected by the increased in traffic as it is one of two main roads from thie site into town. In the 18 years I have lived here the volume of traffic has already increased enormously. The proposed volume of housebuilding and subsequent traffic will gridlock Old Heath Road.

This land should be kept as a public space for the benefit of the whole of the town.

1. This land has always been a public space (when the red flag isn't up) for my lifetime.
2. The junction of Mersea Road and Abbots Road is a traffic bottleneck at rush hour at the moment. It will become far worse if 1000 houses are built on the wick, causing problems for the local businesses and residents. This will also lead to more pollution when we should be trying to reduce it.

make the WICK a conservation area.

infrastructure will be compromised, colchester is already gridlocked every night.1000 houses equals an additional 2000 cars this will affect clean air quality around the town.cases of asthma will increase .builders will no doubt build slums for the future if the Tollgate developement is anything to go by.Currently the Wick provides a heathly green area for people to enjoy.We must also bear in mind the climate accord we are all trying to contribute towhich may help our national objectives.

The plan needs to look closer at what the people in the area want, not just what the council think, after all it’s our town too, the roads carnt cope now old health road and mersea road at times would come to a stand still. Park and ride at that end of town

Total lack of infrastructure in the area, public transport in peak times is very bad due to the heavy volume of traffic in that area already. the destruction of a green space, more cars on the road, not enough doctors/schools/dentists to coupe with the numbers of extra people planned.

1000 houses will add to air pollution. Transport assessment must extend beyond immediate area and main roads. Other less obvious but much used routes 'rat runs' must be also examined. Other developments that impact on the road network on south and south east must be put in assessment equation. On other words -comprehensive.
Transport assessments must be open, transparent and delivered in non technical language. And open to public comment before going to planning committee as gospel.

"stresses the importance of sustainable transport..." Laudable and ticks the green agenda box but residents unlikely to use bus or bike to work or travel beyond the immediate area. No employment nearby.
Experience of previous wishful thinking over bus provision. It has never effectively materialised.
Priority at for buses at junctions. Won't help and just cause more traffic build up.
Travel plans for residents. Nice idea but will be totally disregarded.

Any travel assessments should be put out for consultation. Residents are closer to issue. ECC highways too remote. CBC think workers can access employment by cycle. It is unrealistic.

Reject the building of 1000 homes.
Keep as a nature space/ park.

The creation of 1000 new homes is not sustainable for the area, it would destroy a beautiful green space. I moved to Colchester 4 years ago attracted by the ranges (I live opposite). To put a housing estate opposite me would make me want to move. The roads cannot cope for the additional traffic which is already chaotic. The space is used so often by the local community it encourages exercise and aids mental health. There is a lot of wildlife I enjoy here which would be destroyed. This application was made very late and went under the radar not allowing sufficient time to consider the effects on the wildlife/ environment/ road traffic/ pollution.

Acknowledge that installation of cycle lanes are impractical at key places where there is insufficient road width to encompass them.

The presumption of cycling will be the answer to traffic problems. There are some sections of roads that are wide enough, none of the many polluted pinch points and hazard sections can't accommodate cycle lanes. You'll be giving cyclists a false sense of safety. More will ride along to the most unsafe sections.
Alternatives to car use are impractical due to nature of road network and poor connectivity to centres of employment and services which have all moved west or north.
See attachment.

We should abort the plan.

why build so many hoses on such a beautiful ancient site, how disgusting and selfish to not think of the pollution this will cause while we are trying to reverse the damage we have done to our planet our home. Think of the wild life this will execute. Air pollution goes against the local plan policy on healthy living. You are destroying green space because you are greedy did borris not state there would be no building on green space. The middlewick needs to be maintained if Colchester would like a sustainable future. THINK OF OUR FUTURE.

Needs to be left as greenbelt as we need these areas for clean air environment and wild life.

The road infrastructure will not take all the extra traffic that will be caused by the building of all these new homes. There will be more chance of flooding as a lot of the natural drainage will be covered by concrete. Also in these times where we need to plant more trees this will not happen and will impact on the environment. As a local the roads are bad enough now without all the extra traffic.

Remove Middlewick Ranges for the housing allocation to ensure it does not worsen air pollution, increase traffic and increase risks to existing road users.

The proposals will increase traffic beyond reasonable levels, creating air pollution, noise pollution, greater risks to existing pedestrian and cycling road users. How will this allocation contribute to improving air quality?
Pedestrian and cycle routes are rarely maintained to the same level as car dominated routes and therefore become less used and push more traffic on the roads.
Colchester, along with the rest of the UK should be reviewing how it develops housing, radically changing away from car use, this allocation will clearly not do that.

Middlewick is located on the opposite side of the river to the main transport road and rail coduits (Rail/A12). This will require all traffic to use the existing access or crossing points namely St Botolphs/ Middleborough / Hythe Bridge.
All new developments South of Colchester will also be in contention for the access resource.

Middlewick is located on the opposite side of the river to the main transport road and rail coduits (Rail/A12). This will require all traffic to use the existing access or crossing points namely St Botolphs/ Middleborough / Hythe Bridge.
All new developments South of Colchester will also be in contention for the access resource.

Do not build on middle wick or improve and add more roads to popular places people go, and how about resurface abbots road is awful !!!!

Journeys to Town will worsen the existing serious air pollution problem at the bottom of Mersea Road regardless of Essex Highways thinking a sustainable transport solution is possible. Abbotts Road already has more traffic on it which the roads cant handle.Other developments on the Willows, Berechurch Road will create increased CO2 emissions which acid grassland, trees, hedges and green land currently absorb so with this gone air pollution will be measuring higher without the 1000+ extra cars. How can it be scored positive for reducing pollution We are years away from the banning of petrol and diesel engines.

Leave well alone

This area has plenty of wild life that will loose their homes
The public highways around this proposed area are all ready in a poor way needing much maintenance, as well as already being over crowded

until a master plan for the whole of south colchester is produced there should not be any allocation for Middlewick, as this will impact more than just the local area but people who travel in from Mersea Island and other villages in the south of colchester

Mersea rd in to town is already the most polluted road in to town due to building constraints no amount of planning will be able to reduce this effect. other current building projects are already increasing this problem.
There is no current or future master plan from ECC to alleviate the traffic burden from Mersea rd or Old Heath rd going into colchester, no cycleways into town centre or any other direction are planned by ECC in south Colchester.
with polluting cars and buses years away from being banned the appraisal of a positive for reducing emissions is false.

Let the site be of natural nature to all the birds and animals

There would be at least 1000 extra cars plus,if you base this on 1 car per house and the roads near the site are already too congested
We would need another doctors surgery as at the moment our local surgeries are over limit
Plus this site is of natural nature to wild birds and animals

Remove the development of Middlewick Ranges from the local plan.

The extra journeys into the town centre will exacerbate the existing serious air pollution problem at the conjunction of Mersea Road and St Botolphs.
Despite Essex Highways thinking a sustainable transport solution is possible.
Air pollution will increase making air pollution worse in an area already exceeding legal limits.
The current roads will not fit another 1,000+ cars on them. This will cause increased congestion and a severe increase in air pollution.

Stop the sale stop the build

This is a large settlement away from town. Although the plan considers public transport, costs are higher than parking in town and therefore most residents will choose to use cars putting more pressure on an already overloaded road system. The small station at Colchester town is already running at capacity.

Remove the Middlewick Ranges site from the plan on the basis that the routes into Colchester are already overcrowded with considerable traffic problems, and 2000 extra adults needing to travel this route will make things worse.

I frequently see over-optimistic assumptions during planning that people living in dwellings are going to walk, cycle or use public transport. I don't drive myself, but most people do and amble parking for cars needs to be provided as otherwise the streets become harder to walk and cycle around due to pavement parking and other problem parking caused by overcrowding. The modifications proposed do not provide sufficient assurances that the traffic issues on the main roads into Colchester will be resolved.

I cannot actually think of any modification other than scrapping the plan altogether.

- the planned development is going to put a strain on the already stretched and limited public transport service in South Colchester
- in addition, it will increase pollution and CO2 emissions
- this is actually a slap in the face of the Council's declaration of CEE. Two slaps, one hitting the climate and the other hitting the ecological emergency. How does the Council plan to solve this political quandary?

Middlewick should not be developed but preserved permanently as a 'green lung' for biodiversity and to absorb CO2 and rainfall. There must be no building on the site.

Housing brings with it people and people use cars - most of which are still powered by fossil fuels. This means added pollution and CO2 emissions exactly at the time we need to reduce them and instead use walking, cycling and clean public transport. Middlewick is too far from town to walk easily and has no cycle connections via Mersea Road. We need to upgrade pedestrian and cycle infrastructure before adding cars to roads.
Additionally, the green space absorbs CO2 as well as heavy rain and runoff - we need to plan for more absorbent areas as extreme weather increases.

This plan needs to be scrapped. Housing on a green space is destroying this end of Colchester. Residents use this area for recreational purpose when able and it will increase the carbon footprint of this area. Not to mention pollution caused by additional cars

Aside from congestion there is a scientific wildlife issue in this area for rare species. It also has historical value. The landscape will be ruined if housing is out here. Gp/dentist already struggling too

Development must include facilities for electric vehicles.
The transport assessment must include the wider road network and commuting routes as far as Colchester town centre and the A12; it must also take into consideration the likely extent of continued personal vehicle use.
A comprehensive transport assessment must be completed BEFORE this site is included in the Local Plan.

Does not take into account that new occupants are likely to access the A12 and with no convenient or cost effective alternative to car use. Consequently impacts on the already overwhelmed local infrastructure and acknowledged black spots en-route will be exacerbated.
Traffic assessments will rely on predictive modelling to indicate post-development impacts which may prove incorrect and impossible or prohibitively expensive to put in place retrospectively.
There is no mention of electric vehicle charging points.

I think the Middlewick ranges should not be considered for housing, based on the environmental impact this will have on the immediate area.

Regardless of what improvements are made, or planned, to existing public transport links such as bus routes or trains, regardless of how many cycle lanes are allocated, the building of a thousand homes will add a minimum of a thousand cars to the neighbourhood. Most households own more than one car. An additional 1000+ cars will put a considerable strain on the immediate road network. Mersea Road, Abbots Road and Old Heath Road are already very busy.
The extra cars will have a negative impact on air quality, with even less nature to absorb the fumes

Remove Middlewick from the local plan.

Both Mersea Road and Old heath road are already over busy roads and cannot sustain more traffic upon them. The level of traffic already is causing bad air quality here which in turn impacts on public health. The Wick is the last large green space in this area helping combat this air pollution, and there is no proposed alternative methods to combat the bad air, other than ride a bicycle. Note: the air quality on Magdalene Street is very bad and there is no green lung combatting that due to it all being built over now.

Middlewick should be removed from the local plan.

Extra cars will worsen the existing serious air pollution problem at the bottom junction of Mersea Road. Despite assertions from Essex Highways as to a sustainable transport solution, people will always prefer to use cars. There is no room for 1000+ on this or surrounding roads.

The site of Middlewick acts as the only air pollution buffer for this extremely busy main road. The air pollution legal limits are already exceeded with this vital buffer in place - remove it, and air pollution and the health implications that go with air pollution will only rise further.

a new road out to the A12, AND NEW WATER AND DRAINAGE.

The local infrastructure can not sustain this plan road, congestion, water, and drainage will not cope. plus the lose of habitat for many animals bird, and open space.