Stop Fairholme Flats

 Dear Mr Fagg 
Subject: Objection to BRW/83/2011 
I would like to register an objection to the plans submitted for the development of Fairholme in Highland Avenue. 
I own Rockland House, and am an immediate neighbour to the east of Fairholme. 
My issues are: 

Scale of proposed development 

• The scale of the development will have a negative impact upon the character and appearance of the area. 
• Four storeys on the corner of Highland Avenue and the Ongar Road would be out of keeping with the scale of neighbouring buildings and would create a prominent and incongruous addition to the street scene. 
• This would be exacerbated by the proximity to the Ongar Road and Highland Avenue and the resultant loss of landscaping alongside Ongar Road. 
• The comparison of the height of the proposed roof line of the development with the top of a chimney stack for a nearby property, and with properties a significant distance from the proposed development, is disingenuous and shows the sheer enormity and scale of this development. 

• Noise from traffic for 10 flats running along the boundary of Rockland House to the parking area. 
• Noise from traffic in the parking area affecting 133 Ongar Road and 2 Treetops due to insufficient screening (incomplete earth bund and wall). 
• Noise from more residents. 
• There are first floor and stairwell windows that will directly face our garden with a clear view, affecting our privacy. 
• Overlooking from balconies especially the balcony above the cycle store which has no barrier to the east. 
• The real discomfort from invasion of privacy because of overlooking, the sheer scale of the property will ensure that our garden is no longer a pleasant place to sit and enjoy some outdoor space. 
• Loss of light into Rockland House and its garden 

• Whilst the exterior echoes the design cues of Springfield the proposed development has one more storey. 
• The design is inappropriate in its context, and fails to take the opportunities available for improving the character and quality of the area and the way it functions. 
• This development would not complement the neighbouring buildings in terms of scale, density, layout and access 
• The development does not create, or enhance, the distinctive character of Highland Avenue and therefore does not support a sense of local pride and civic identity 
• The front line of the proposed development is further forward than any other property in Highland Avenue which adversely impacts the street scene and the character of Highland Avenue. 
• The development lacks a fence around the garden area at the rear for safety. 
• In the elevations the height of the property is 11.85m yet in the Design and Access Statement it is shown as 11.2m. The Design and Access Statement therefore misrepresents the proposed height when compared with other buildings. 

• The 10 parking spaces shown on the plans do not meet the latest guidelines or minimum standards, here for reference: 

1. Preferred bay size for cars 5.5m x 2.9m
2. Minimum bay size (only used in exceptional circumstances) 5.0m x 2.5m 

• 10 spaces is insufficient as the residents are likely to have more than one car per flat given that 50% of Brentwood residents have 2 or more vehicles. 
• This last point is highlighted by the recent change in parking recommendations for developments which state that there should be one space per bedroom and a quarter of a space for visitors per property. This means the proposal should have 24 spaces. 
• I note that the prior recommendation (2005) was that residents of the property should not be allowed resident’s parking permits which will only add to the significant issue of dangerous and illegal parking in the area. 
• Whilst I would want to prevent illegal and dangerous parking, there isn’t the parking capacity to support the provision of resident’s parking permits on such a scale. 
• Some of the cars used to provide turning circle data are no longer available from the manufacturer (but for reference Volvo S70 has turning circle of 10.2 metres). A more realistic vehicle to use to assess turning circles would be a Ford Mondeo (especially as Ford is a major employer in the area) which has a turning circle of 11.6 metres which would not be accommodated by the plans. If the Volvo comparison is considered appropriate then the V70 has a turning circle of 12.2 metres, which would not be accommodated by the plans. 
• There is insufficient space for vehicles to manoeuvre in the parking area. A car needs to be able to park facing north, but turn to be able to exit facing south. This is not possible with the current layout. 
• The parking suggested is not secure. 
• Consider what happens if all 10 spaces are occupied and an eleventh vehicle enters the parking area. Where is there space to turn and exit without reversing along the driveway? 

• The site and surroundings cannot sustain the density of development proposed.  Especially when considered alongside other developments in the area including the approved Highwood development. 
• The majority of this proposed development is designed to occupy space that is currently a garden and as such could be considered “garden grabbing” 

• This design would actively damage local biodiversity by removing laurels on the boundary of Ongar Road and a garden mainly laid to lawn. 
• We have seen bats in our garden and believe there should be a study to determine whether this development would damage any existing bat habitat. 
• We have seen badgers in our garden and a resident at 135 Ongar Road has video footage of badgers in their garden and we believe that elimination of the Fairholme garden may remove a foraging location. 
• Existing hedges along the boundary with Ongar Road and on the boundary with Highland Avenue are to be removed. 
• There is nothing in this scheme that leads me to believe that renewable energy has been considered at all for this development. 

• Given the lack of space for vehicles to manoeuvre into and out of spaces at the back of the property, and vehicles park facing the rear of the site, then to exit the property drivers may only be able to reverse the entire distance back out to Highland Avenue which isn’t safe for residents of the development, for pedestrians on Highland Avenue and for vehicles entering Highland Avenue from the Ongar Road. 
• As the rear garden area is only for the use of flats 1,3 and 4, it would seem that to access vehicles residents have to leave the flats by the Highland Avenue exit and walk along the drive to access their vehicles and refuse storage. Pedestrians should have a safer way to access their vehicles and refuse storage. 
• There is restricted visibility of the proposed drive from the pavement. This piece of pavement is used by several hundred parents and children accessing the three schools in Sawyers Hall Lane and it is dangerous to have an obscured drive that will be carrying such a high volume of traffic. Because the parking is hidden from view, all residents will drive to the rear of the property to see if there is a vacant parking space and, if not, reverse back out onto Highland Avenue. The combination of cars with limited visibility of the pavement and children running along the pavement with a restricted view of the drive poses a significant danger. 
• The junction of Ongar Road and Highland Avenue is a very busy junction and cars enter Highland Avenue and the scale of this development significantly increases the risk of road traffic accidents. More than ever before people shop online for everything. All of these goods are delivered and, for this development, this means that up to 38 residents at this address could be receiving multiple deliveries a week. 
• Each time there is a delivery a van would park in a dangerous location near the junction with Ongar Road. This is dangerous for traffic coming onto Highland Avenue from Ongar Road, for traffic travelling out of Highland Avenue towards the Ongar Road and for the delivery drivers too. 
• The paucity of parking provision also means that people are likely to use the space in front of the flats in Highland Avenue – taxi drivers, friends, residents. Regardless of why vehicles might park there the results could be serious, perhaps fatal. 
• In order to collect the refuse the collection truck would have to park close to the junction with the Ongar Road for a considerable time creating a significant traffic hazard. 
• This area is already the scene of significant congestion during the school run and when lorries delivering to, or collecting from, Travis Perkins wait in Highland Avenue. 
• The addition of properties with 30 associated vehicles will exacerbate congestion. 

• If piled foundations are required we are concerned about the impact that this will have on the foundations of our own Victorian property. 

• The development would spoil enjoyment of our garden. We would feel overlooked. When sitting in our garden we generally face west towards Fairholme. The development would dwarf our own house and garden and ruin the pleasant view we currently have. I invite the Planning Committee to come and sit in our garden to understand the difference this development would make to our outdoor space. 
• There is a Facebook group opposed to this development here with over 70 supporters and growing.