Resident worried lorries will shake house in commercial development plan
A development of commercial units and 21 homes on land around Nazeing is set to be developed despite warnings it would lead to someone "getting killed". It comes after councillors had to agree on two options for delivering housing spread across two sites. One was 15 commercial units with no houses at Middlebrook off Hoe Lane and 21 family homes with no commercial units at Willowbrook off Green Lane.
The other was 16 homes and no commercial sites at Middlebrook off Hoe Lane and six affordable homes alongside 22 commercial units off Green Lane at Willowbrook. Nazeing parish council said they supported the development of 15 commercial units at Middlebrook and 21 family homes at Willowbrook.
David Joslin, Chairman of the Planning Committee at Nazeing parish council, told the planning committee at Epping Forest District Council: "Bearing in mind that Willowbrook that the area around there is pretty well totally residential and it's approached through residential through a road with houses on both sides it is clearly beneficial for to the residents for Willowbrook to be restricted to residential use.”
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But Kim Patient, who lives near Middlebrook, said: “If you put commercial [units] in there, it will destroy it. It'll destroy my house physically. My house shakes. I've got lorry drivers sitting there because they can't pass each other, and they're looking into my lounge and into my kitchen. I mean, all the foundations of my house are shaking."
He added: "We're trying to create something beautiful. Everybody spent loads of money and tried to live in a little dream, and you're going to wipe it out with commercial lorries. Somebody's going to get killed up there. It's absolutely lethal, and it shouldn't be commercial up there. Why did you turn around and allow people to build houses, and then you're turning around and allowing commercial? It's disgusting.”
Councillors voted to support the development of 15 commercial at Middlebrook and 21 homes at Willowbrook. After it was indicated by the developer that was the preferred option, they also voted to defer the other option to allow time to withdraw those applications.