Local anger at plans to build 350 homes in Rettendon
Councillors debated the Chelmsford City Council local plan at the meeting on Tuesday (June 2)
Emotional residents pleaded with councillors to stop the “destruction and total disregard for the people” at a meeting discussing plans to build 350 homes in an Essex village.
Councillors debated the Chelmsford City Council local plan, which includes proposals for 350 homes on the edges of Rettendon, at the meeting on Tuesday (June 2).
One local resident told the meeting the “negative” impact of the proposed Rettendon development, on both humans and wildlife, would be “immense.”
She added: “Is there anyone with a conscience to stop and fight this destruction and total disregard for the people who live in the village and their lives here? I don’t want my grandchildren to grow up not knowing what it’s like to see badgers, foxes, buzzards, hawks, red kites, field mice, hedgehogs, and newts.”
Another resident shouted during the meeting: “You don’t care about normal people, or anything, the wildlife, human life, nothing.”
Steve Davis, Chelmsford Independents councillor for Rettendon and Runwell, said the plans will mean “fundamental, irreversible destruction” of the village’s character. He added: “Since when did meeting statutory deadlines justify sacrificing the infrastructure and identity of our villages. If this plan is formally submitted tonight, it will lock in a legacy of over-development which will damage our ward up to 2041 and beyond.”
Richard Lee, councillor responsible for planning and place-shaping, said the proposals for the site include “retaining and strengthening wherever possible” the landscape, trees and hedgerows.
He added: “The city council takes environmental impact very seriously. Officers have undertaken initial housing studies to ensure the number of new homes identified in the local plan can be accommodated and fulfil these masterplan principles.”