Locals slam plan to demolish Essex garden centre to build mobile homes

Plans have been unveiled to demolish a former garden centre site to make way for 16 mobile homes in an Essex town - but it has faced a raft of objections from neighbours who believe it could make conditions "deplorable". The application has been sent to Braintree District Council for a site on the A131 Broad Road in Bocking, to the north of Braintree.

The plans are for the area of Broadfield Nursery to the south side of Broad Road. The site has also been previously used as a garden centre and nursery with various commercial buildings within the site. The area has continued to be used for residential and retail purposes.

If approved, the plans would see the existing commercial buildings demolished to make way for a "high quality" lodge park consisting of 16 mobile homes. McGinley Properties & Rental Ltd said they have drawn inspiration from the nearby Kingsmead Park in Coggeshall Road, Braintree for their new site, which would consist of 16 mobile homes.

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In their application to Braintree District Council, the firm said: "The applicant seeks to re-develop the site, entailing the demolition of 282 Broad Road, bungalow and theexisting commercial buildings and a change of use of the land for residential park homes. The applicant is seeking up to 16 residential park homes on the site. It is not proposed to use the site for holiday use or as a Gypsy and Traveller Site."

McGinley cited there was a "well-known, urgent need for housing of all types" in the country and that the site would be in the lowest flood risk zone if approved. They wish to keep the existing access to the site and stated there would not be any additional traffic generated by the homes as the garden centre on site already brings in many visitors.

In conclusion the firm said: "It would not result in detrimental impacts upon the visual and neighbouring amenity of the area, ecology, landscape, or traffic impacts. The benefits of the development would significantly and demonstrably outweigh any potential adverse impacts."

However, since the plans were submitted more than 20 different residents have submitted objections to the mobile homes being built. Residents expressed concerns over the quality of the housing it would provide and how it could "open the door" to more similar developments in Braintree in the future.

Concerns have also been raised about the entrance to the site, stating that two vehicles cannot pass at the same time. One resident said: "At 3.4m wide, the accessway is not wide enough for 2 vehicles to pass one another which will lead to conflict of vehicles entering and exiting the site, in turn causing significant highway safety issues with vehicles needing to reverse onto the main road, or waiting on the main road for a vehicle to exit."

Residents said Broad Road is "one of the busiest roads in Braintree" and feared the vehicles and mobile homes would bring more traffic to the area and more delays. One resident also believed it could create "deplorable" light pollution with potential "flashing security lights" on the site.

Another resident said the developers seemed to have "no concern" for the people living on the road. They said: "This type of application will bring no benefit in terms of economic and social objectives.

"Such inappropriate plans to allow 15 mobile homes directly behind residential houses gives no consideration to the harm to the local area and the residents on this linear road, who will be subjected to the constant noise from the people themselves, a possible 30 more vehicles, with engines turning over and car doors slamming and lots of fumes from the many cars as they come and go at all times."

Another resident of Lyons Hall Road near the A131 also hit out at the potential traffic problems they believe the homes would cause. They said: "Traffic from Halstead, which now have many new estates and Hedingham pass through this route on their way to the A120, M11, Chelmsford and Witham. Because of severe traffic holdups, in desperation this trafficis now resorting to going down Coldnailhurst Avenue to join the A120 avoiding the A131.

"Surely we can't have any more traffic travelling through a housing estate. Just to make matters worst we still have the new estate with just under 300 houses being built at the top of Church Road and Broad Road, and the future development planned for Straits Mill. This horrendous traffic problem isn't just restricted to peak times anymore, its all day every day, until we have new infrastructure to deal with this severe traffic problem i appeal to the committee to decline this proposal."

The plans will be decided by Braintree District Council at a later date.