Braintree: Hands off our countryside! (From Gazette)

Many many people oppose development on farmland but the Council do as they please. They pretend that they listen to locals but the truth is that they don't. What they do is decide to develop on land that is nowhere near where the councillors live themselves

i hope the campaigners win sick of tis constant housebuilding

The issue is that the population is continuing to increase, so we need new homes. No-one wants these near them, but they have to go somewhere.

I sympathise with objections to building on farmland, greenbelt land, etc. However, all this does is drives developers into already over-developed town centre locations, where it then becomes a challenge to see how many tiny flats they can fit onto a small plot of land. Check the Braintree Council website, and almost every week you will see an application to turn one house/pub/barn into 6 or 7 flats. Not only does this put extra pressure on local infrastructure, but it is also leading to a deteriation in living standards, and, I believe, an increase in house prices as people are forced to accept smaller and smaller accomodation. However, the people living close to these 'beauty spots' are probably in the main living in larger houses, on the outskirts of town, and are far removed from these problems.

I think it's about time we had a sensible (national) debate about development policy. Green belt has noble intentions, but we can't keep squeezing more and more people into the same physical space.

new ppeople should not be allowed in that is the only answer there is no room and the countryside is not to be killed for it none of you have any idea how important the countryside is to humans without it we wold have very short life spans and what right do we have continuouisly kill wildlife - stop excessive human breeding 2 children is more than enough more than that is ridiculous and most people cant supporr them

Todays children (2 per family or not) will be tomorrows parents with children of their own..where will todays children live if the are no more houses built???

You agree to houses for chickens but not for children!! weird

sKorch there will be no room for British children when all the new houses are being built for immigrants that is fact maybe you want to think about thatif you have children of your own who will have children and so on where are they going to live? leave the countryside alone and chickens belong in countryside