Once again the people of Halstead find themselves under attack from developers. Permission for more housing estates are being applied for that do not meet the needs of local families, rather the greed of landowners and developers. Local planners and national planning inspectors seem intent on ignoring the views of residents and allow developments to go ahead without any acknowledgement of the legitimate concerns raised by residents. The development of the land east of Mount Hill has been approved despite real concerns over the damage this will cause to the environment in the form of excess water run off and the loss of habitat for wildlife.
A BID to build 200 homes on the outskirts of Halstead is set to go before the town council next week. Gladman Developments is hoping to gain permission to build on the site at Bournebridge Hill, just of the A131, to the south of the town. Reports suggest the development could bring as many as 500 new residents to Halstead with the bid attracting opposition from many residents. Although the application was first submitted in March 2019, developers have since revised the application and resubmitted it to Braintree District Council s Planning Committee. As a result, the bid will also be scrutinised by Halstead Town Council on Monday.
DEVELOPERS are fine tuning applications which could bring more than 200 homes to Halstead. Two applications which aim to build on land off Mount Hill are undergoing refinements. Plans to build 130 homes on Mount Hill were due to have a verdict back in December but developers Orchestra has delayed the application while it is amended. A Braintree District Council spokesman said: “20/01493/OUT is currently on hold in anticipation of revised drawings relating to the parameters governing the design and layout of the development. “A committee date will be set following submission and public consultation on these revisions. “ The 130 homes application is the latest development bid on Mount Hill but an application to build 71 homes on land directly next to the 130 homes site was also passed on an appeal in 2019.