I am concerns with the aspect of the housing draft plan regarding proposed 300 new homes in Mersea.
There is simply insufficient infrastructure to support such proposal. I am concerned that the wording of the draft refers to it being ‘likely’ that additional infrastructure being provided, even though the need is identified. That is of course insufficient.
That is my main very serious concern.
Also, crossing of the Stroud would be increasingly congested at near high tide times

Thank you

Increasing the capacity of the doctors surgery has still not been achieved and no new patients are being able to register. Houses are still being built at the moment despite this. Also the population of Mersea increases dramatically during the summer months.
The access in and out of Mersea is often restricted owing to the high tides which is a problem for the emergency services.
I am also worried about the environmental impact concerning wastewater treatment which affects the shellfish industry and bathing water.

My concerns are as follows: I am particularly concerned that the doctors closed its list for new patients some time ago. the new houses that are still being built means that anyone buying them doesn't have a doctor. I don't understand how this can carry on.
The access on and off Mersea is often restricted by the high tides which has knock on effect for the emergency services which are unable to access patients.
I am also concerned about the environmental issues regarding the fishing industry and holidaymakers who like watersports.

. to build any more houses on a small island is Ludicrous. on the 7th of December ccers were queueing to get onto the island hours before the high tide. Since charging for parking the roads are after impossible. This causes arguments and more hold ups. \ don't believe emergency services would get through. also to get doctor or dentist appointment is hard now. The doctor isn't taking on any new patients. Sewage is also a problem as with litter as many bins have now been removed. The buses only run hourly, if they twon up and sometimes terminate at Monwick. This unique location will be gone forever

As Mersea has only one road on and off in poor condition with tides covering more often is my first objection. As there are NO doctors for new home owners, NO NH's Dentist for new home owners. As Mersea has a lot of caravan sites in the summer with more than 5000 visitor's not sure if Mersea can cope with the poor roads the lack of foot paths and with more homes and more people. With the poor sewage and very bad smell of treatment, low water pressure, Surely all the above should be looked at before any new homes are planed.

I object to further housing being build on Mersea Island.

It would ruin the unique character of the village and on the basis that the doctors and dental surgeries are already full and are not accepting new patients plus the space at the school can’t guarantee a place for kids that live on the island then I feel that there isn’t adequate infrastructure or services in Mersea Island to support more housing.

We cannot have anymore houses on Mersea Island, we do not have the infrastructure. The doctors surgery is already closed to patients and the only school we have is over capacity.

We also only have one road to get on and off the island - this gets covered by a high tide - coupled if there is an accident or roadworks - the road simply cannot cope and it’s is hours for people to leave or get back onto the island.

GP practice does not accept new patients, more houses would compound this problem.
Our aging sewage system fails in heavy rain. Sewage bubbles up through manholes when sewers are unable to cope. The unique marine heritage and bird life are at risk.This is worse when thousands of summer visitors stay on the caravan sites.Transport is an issue with many elderly residents not driving and buses not accessing the island when the Strood is covered. Evacuation of the Island with increasing frequency of very high tides will be more difficult as will more people going off to find work

Grave concerns about the plan for 300 new houses on Dawes Road because:
1)Impact of all the extra cars on the Strood in particular at times when it is flooded & on the road infrastructure in
general.
2)impact on gp surgery which has already closed its list for new patients, and no concrete plans to expand/relocate the surgery to bigger premises.
3)impact on our already strained utility infrastructure
4)impact on Mersea Island’s unique environment, and concerns affecting the Blackwater Estuary including waste water treatment issues & failure to carry out legally required environmental impact assessments, both of which affect our much prized oyster industry & bathing waters.
5) Strain on our limited public transport which is regularly affected by flooding on the Strood.

Mersea is an island connected to the mainland by a single road causeway which is covered by the sea at hightide approximately 200 times p.a.At such times it is inaccessable to Blue-light and public transport for up to 3 hours.
Recent and future residents typically will travel 10 miles to access Medicare,employment,education and training.
Mersea is the only mainland sanctuary south of Formby, Lancs for endangered red squirrels.
Historically wastewater treatment capacity has been inadequate.Recent improvements have yet to be assessed in terms of current and future environmental impact on shellfish and bathing quality .

Already inadequate GP provision; GP list closed.

Sewage treatment inadequate when population swollen by tourists, neap tides and low rainfall (a feature of Mersea); harm to oysters.

Poor bus service which stops for up to 4 hrs at high tide. Strood is sole access; covered by high tides.

Poor year round jobs.

Fragile unique wildlife at risk.

Alternative sites on mainland.

As a former member of your Council and the Planning Committee, I can only say that in my time my feeling was that your Councillors had very little understanding of our Island and the problems we face. We are a finite size, we cannot get any bigger (without spending billions on land reclamation) and if you cover the Island with more concrete and bricks, we will probably end up like another island- Manhattan, If your plan goes ahead.

I totally agree with the Town Council's concerns. It's crowded enough as they point out and in the summer quadruples in population with the caravanners, campers and day visitors. Whilst they bring income and employment to the island it means that we are totally overcrowded during those months with little infrastructure and car parking to cope with such numbers. With an additional 300 homes (which could equate to up to 1000 new residents) we could find the Island almost impossible to live in peacefully.

So many people use their over large vehicles to come here and the few car parks we have. are inadequate to cope with the width of them because the car park spaces are outside not wide

enough. I, personally use my bicycle mostly but I now feel unsafe and quite fearful on such overcrowded roads. The new development proposed to the east of Dawes Lane will mean that the new residents there will have to access the amenities of the town centre by car, thus adding to the difficulties that those of us original residents have to suffer I urge you all to think again. This is not nimbyism; this is facing reality and being concerned about it. No, frightened by itl

object to more housing
Not enough doctors for present residents
Too many additional places for orimary schoolat maximum capacity
Additional traffic on already busy road with only one route onto the island ,the strrod
Far too much building on small plots sold off by houses creating housing with not enough car spaces and parking on roads
Excessive number of empty 2nd homes and airbnbs all over the island which would once have been first tim buyer homes
Caravan parks lived in full time and not even counted as population increase already on Mersea Island
Not enough facilities for residents already ie doctors, dentists yet adding more people
Roads in all parts of the island both west and East at maximum capacity before tourism in Summer
Insufficient parking for all residents cars and excessive road parking at all times of the year causing problems for road users but most importantly the emergency services
In conclusion the Island is already struggling with current legitimate residents added too by all unaccounted full time caravan residents

Dear sirs I wish to put on record my complete objection to your proposed new housing ( regulation 18 PP23) for 300 new dwellings on west mersea. This is a small island community served by a single road (from Colchester’s which is already overcrowded and it shows)which floods twice daily having No police force,a single volunteer fire engine,a full dental practice,a full school,and a full doctors.
And on the issue of environment it is not just our wildlife that has suffered and declined it is also the people who
Are on the island now. I completely object to the stupidity of any further developments on this island to the detriment
Of the present community. Irrespective of what your desk top studies show and a government who lack basic
Common sense

We are amazed that Mersea Island is considered to be a large settlement in the hierarchy of town and villages, and therefore suitable for further growth as a substantial hub.


We notice that the proposal is based on a desk top assessment of facilities and infrastructure. Did this assessment take into consideration the long list of people waiting to register at the West Mersea Surgery? Currently, the surgery is not in a position to accept new patients as they are full. Therefore, we were obliged to register with a doctors off the Island, a round trip of 12 miles – not satisfactory as in winter this could become a difficult journey with icy roads, etc; we are both pensioners and moved onto the Island in July this year. Also one has to take into consideration the tidal situation of The Strood. My wife recently had to cancel a blood test appointment off the Island due to a tidal surge on The Strood. This would not have been the case if we had been registered with the West Mersea Surgery.


Environmental concerns. Furthermore, Anglia Water Surveys should, we hope, be a material consideration in any future planning decisions for Mersea Island for both Bathing and Oyster Marine Conservation Zones (MCZs) are subject to specific planning rules.




In our opinion, the current infrastructure of Mersea Island cannot accommodate a new 300 dwelling development, i.e. Limited public transport affected by flooding on The Strood. Further impact on Mersea Island’s already strained utility infrastructure. Parking facilities in West Mersea village is very restricted and would be exacerbated by further housing development.


Does West Mersea School have the capacity to take on more pupils?


On a personal note, we moved from Dunstable in Bedfordshire from an urban sprawl to Mersea Island – a rural retreat. If this development is fully recognized it will change the area of Dawes Lane into an urban sprawl. Can Dawes Lane cope with the extra volume of traffic that would permeate from a 300 dwelling development east of Dawes Lane? Also value of properties would depreciate due to the change of environment that a 300 dwelling development would create, i.e. loss of open space.


We note the forceful policy of this current Socialist government who, it would seem, will build on every open space available, but surely, environmental and infrastructure concerns must be a consideration before any new housing development is agreed if at the very least for the sake of the residents already in situ on Mersea Island.
The current infrastructure on Mersea Island cannot cope with a further major development. Please improve the infrastructure on Mersea Island before any further major development is entertained.

1 GP surgery cannot take any more patients
2 Cannot park anywhere now on this island due to yellow lines everywhere and impossible in the summer months.If I want to use the Mica I have to go out 45 minutes earlier to get a parking space and if I cannot get to park I have to go home and miss my class
If more houses are built it will be impossible to park and I cannot walk that far so it means I will not be able to go.
I have trouble parking in Tescos to do shopping as car park always full

I recently moved to Mersea island and found we could not sign on at the GP surgery no more development should take place until that is resolved including larger shops larger schools and improvements to the road they already have potholes that are in need of repair tell the government NO

Mersea Island must have a dentists surgery fit for purpose. Already no more NHS patients.
Road infrastructure must be improved already not fit for purpose.
Bus service poor.
Only road onto the island floods often therefor emergency evacuations is often impossible

Mersea island is flooding when it rains as due to over building and taking away the natural flood planes so more building will cause more flooding

Unfortunately my experience of permitted development on Mersea island has resulted in a deterioration of service and support. The island doctors practise cannot cope with any more patients and nothing has been done to improve this situation. The sewage plant in cross lane is unable to cope with increased demand. The noise levels are awful, with warning alarms etc being emitted. The road along Dawes lane is not wide enough to support two housing estates flowing onto it and there’s no pathway to keep people safe. The glebe recreational park doesn’t have sufficient parking for an increased demand.

The key factor making Mersea Island unsuitable is the one road in and out. Passage is constrained up to two hours either side of high spring tides of which in 2026 there will be over 200 at 5,00 metres or above, enough to cover the Strood . Buses become intermittent so there can be no reliable public transport.
There are also frequent occasions when the road is wholly or partially blocked for hours by an incident, a traffic accident or road works.
Furthermore we are at best 25 minutes from A&E, even once the ambulance has arrived.

Mersea Island has a finite amount of land, being an island. Every new housing development takes part of this beautiful island that can never be replaced. The space that residents value so highly is gone. For ever.
The impact from the current development of hundreds of new homes is not known and can only be imagined.
No more on Mersea Island please.

West Mersea should not be considered as a large settlement suitable for further large scale development. It is an island connected by a single causeway which is liable to tidal flooding on a regular basis, something that is becoming more regular with global warming. Any incidents that occur between the junction with the Peldon Road and the island, including tidal flooding, the island is completely cut off, restricting access to emergency services.The island population already increases significantly in the summer months which stretches exiting infrastructure to it’s limit, the doctors surgery is already closed to new patients.

Proposed new housing for West Mersea, east of Dawes Lane
I was shocked, stunned and appalled when I recently heard that there is a proposal to build 300 houses east of Dawes Lane on Mersea Island. STOP! If this is carried out, the Island will lose its rural appeal and become an urban sprawl.
I have the following comments to make on this proposed new housing development:
Sewage
The current disposal facilities would not be adequate to cope with further development and therefore arguably polluting Mersea's surrounding waters. This would affect both fishing and Mersea's world renowned oyster industry which could be lost forever, and therefore people's livelihoods. It would also affect the quality of bathing water and tourism making the waters less suitable for bathing.
Traffic
300 more houses - approximately 1,200 people with an average of 2 cars per household, 600 cars would be too much for the Island to cater for especially at high tide at The Strood when it is not possible to cross as the sea covers footways. Car parking is already difficult in West Mersea village.
Local amenities : doctors, school, and dentist
Currently, the local doctors surgery on the Island is now full. They have a long waiting list and are not accepting any more patients who are being referred to doctors off the island which is most unsatisfactory. Recently my sister had to use her off-island doctors at Layer de la Haye for an important blood test appointment but because of a tidal surge she could not leave the island and missed her appointment. If she hadbeen a patient on the island this would not have happened. Her next available appointment was a week later. The off-island doctor is close to capacity. Anything beyond this would be to the detriment of its current patients as they would have difficulty in making appointments.
Mersea Island only has one school. Has your desktop assessor asked the school if they can take anymore pupils?
There is also only one dentist on the island - it is private and not NHS. Not ideal.
Water pressure
During the busy summer months especially when holidaymakers come to the Island, the water pressure drops. Extremely inconvenient. Another aspect to take into consideration when a further 300 houses will be using the water.
West Mersea town is becoming busy, especially in summer months. It struggles with lack of parking.
Before any future development, albeit not major, is considered on this Island, inadequate sewage disposal, doctors, and school should be addressed.
The last major development - Kingsfield in Dawes Lane was reduced to 100 houses, arguably because of the lack of infrastructure to support. How then can we cater for another 300 houses with the same infrastructure? It does not add up!
I love Mersea Island - please don't spoil it by agreeing a major development which would affect the quality of life for the current residents on the Island.
I have known Mersea Island for 70 years and have lived on the Island for the past 32. The Island is known as a unique and beautiful island so please let us keep it that way!

We wish to object strongly to the prospect of building another 300 homes on farmland on the East side of Dawes Lane West Mersea as envisaged in the local Plan Policy ST5, PP23.

We agree with the issues raised by the WMTC concerning the unique situation of the island with our single road access at the Strood, which is severed for prolonged periods at Spring High Tides approximately every second week. This creates problems for traffic flow of course but particularly for emergency vehicles coming and returning to hubs off island such as the hospital. Cars and traffic in general are increasing on the island anyway; it is becoming dangerous even to cycle from West to East Mersea. Parking in the town on busy days is already difficult, and parking at the two supermarkets is sometimes impossible; visitors' cars already greatly outnumber available parking spaces for the beach and harbour on sunny days.

The strain on existing public services is clearly important, but for us, as residents on the island since 1973, the most problematic has proved to be access to the Medical Surgery. Because we both worked off island (at the University) we registered soon after buying a house here at what is now Abbeyfield Medical Centre (then the Mersea Road Surgery). Earlier this year that Centre attempted to remove us from their lists on the argument that their doctors could not waste their time travelling to Mersea for domiciliary visits. We have been allowed to remain with them, because Mersea Surgery has closed their list to new patients, only on the condition that we do not request any such domiciliary visit. At the ages of 81 and 82 this is clearly not an ideal situation and is a potential worryfor the future. For the inhabitants of the planned 300 new houses (perhaps 600 to 1000 people) it will be a medical nightmare because they will not be accepted at the Mersea surgery and of course not at Abbeyfield. Other local surgeries between here and Maldon or Tiptree may have similar problems.

We hope you will take into consideration these points in your revision of the draft Local Plan.

Mersea has an aged population and the Doctors are already not able to take any more patients

About Mersea Island:
Environmental concern affecting the Blackwater estuary include wastewater treatment issues and failures to carry out legally required environmental impact assessments, both of which affect shellfish and bathing waters.

Commitment to increase capacity of the medical facilities still not achieved and the list for new patients closed.

Unique island location and tidal flooding of the road impacting access on and off.

Limited public transport which is regularly affected by flooding on the Strood.

Further impact on our already strained utility infrastructure.

Our unique Island Location and tidal flooding of the road impacting access on and off.

Environmental concerns affecting the Blackwater estuary include wastewater treatment issues and failures to carry out legally required environmental impact assessments, both of which affect shellfish and bathing waters.

Commitment to increase capacity of the medical facilities still not achieved and the list for new patients closed.

Limited public transport which is regularly affected by flooding on the Strood.

Further impact on our already strained utility infrastructure

20-12-2025.Ref my comments on the consultation

for Proposed New Housing for West Mersea.

Dear sir/madam,

1 strongly object to the large scale of new building being proposed for many

reasons:- (1) The sewage works often can't cope as it is. (2) The doctors surgery is full. (3) The Primary School is already at capacity

(4) There is no secondary School (5) The is insufficient employment

This increasing the already quite heavy traffic m the 'B' class road into colchester

(6) The council is already aware of the pressure being put m the country Park k at Cudmore Grove, endangering the wildlife.
(2) Why spoil it further ? why not preserve areas of special interest and character, like Mersea, and therefore build nearer to Colchester and the amenities?

I hope you will take my comments into consideration

The site is potentially located within the setting of a number of Grade II listed buildings, and the Mersea Mount: a Roman barrow at Barrow Hill Farm scheduled monument (LEN ‎1019019).

Initial assessment

While development at this site may be acceptable, a proforma Heritage Impact Assessment will help to confirm the site’s suitability from a historic environment perspective and to identify appropriate mitigation measures or opportunities for enhancement. The resulting recommendations should then be incorporated into criteria ‘j’ of the policy.