I support the local Mile End community taking a stand and campaigning against the overambitious overdevelopment of Mile End, not only as a resident, but also as someone who appreciates what little green open spaces we have left in the town.

While I can appreciate the frustration of local residents in Langham regarding the 114 homes proposed for the area, in real terms, this is a drop in the ocean in comparison to the thousands of homes which Mile End is supposed to take over the next decade.

As Langham is only a stone’s throw away from Mile End, I would have thought residents would be more collaborative and supportive of trying to help us stop the housing in Mile End, as this could affect Langham.

The big question here is: “Why has this happened?”

Basically, it would appear that in 2005, the previous Conservative administration agreed for Colchester to become a “high growth”

area, which opened the doors to the building of thousands of new homes.

This, in turn, has led to the now agreed and somewhat staggering housing targets of 19,000 houses by 2023 for Colchester.

Residents of Langham will no doubt be concerned about 114 homes planned for their village, but imagine how the residents of Mile End and Braiswick feel about expecting to lose yet more green fields and having thousands of new homes dumped on their doorstep. Surely a sense of scale and logic needs to be applied here?

Scott Greenhill
Prospective Lib Dem
Council candidate
Bergholt Road
Colchester