SAVE BROOMFIELD

28/12/2015 About 1 minute Share article:

What is the Save our Broomfield campaign about

THIS CAMPAIGN IS ABOUT ENCOURAGING CHELMSFORD CITY COUNCIL TO FIND A BETTER ALTERNATIVE TO BUILD. 14,000 HOUSES WILL HAVE A DAMING EFFECT ONTHE HYDROLOGICAL SYSTEM FOR ALL OF CHELMSFORD.

Update 23rd January 2016

The consultation has now closed and no further submissions will be accepted.

Well done to everyone that sent one in before the deadline, it has been a tremendous effort all round.

What Happens Now?

The City Council will analyse all the responses and feedback to the Development Committee in March.

Then comes preparation of the Preferred Options document, which is due to be considered by the Development Committee in June, and then go out to public consultation between July and September.

It's likely we'll know what the preferred options are when the Development Committee meets on 9 June, otherwise the next meeting is 14 July. We'll keep you posted.

ISN'T IT TIME TO BUILD A NEW TOWN THAT CAN COPE?

Jobs to create urbanisation. Removing trees and vegetation to build houses, some with sewers and some with septic tanks. Begin drilling wells.

Bulldozing of land for houses and subdivisions. Filling in of farm ponds. Building of roads. Diverting streams to supply water for people. Discharging of sewage into streams.

Effect on Water System:

More storm runoff and erosion because there is less vegetation to slow water as it runs down hills. More sediment is washed into streams. Flooding can occur because water-drainage patterns are changed.

More land erosion and more sediment is washed into streams. This increases the chance of flooding and harms the water quality of the streams. Local flooding can occur. Some small streams are paved over (using culverts). Natural land that used to soak up runoff is replaced by roads and large areas of pavement (impervious areas) . This means that the water that used to soak into the ground now runs off into streams. The runoff can also be collected by storm sewers and sent to small streams, which can flood.
Increased sewage in streams causes pollution -- it can kill fish and make water unusable for other purposes downstream.

More pavement means less water will soak into the ground, meaning that the underground water table will have less water to recharge it. This will lower the water table. Some existing wells will not be deep enough to get water and might run dry.
The runoff from the increased pavement goes into storm sewers, which then goes into streams. This runoff, which used to soak into the ground, now goes into streams, causing flooding. Changing a stream channel can cause flooding and erosion along the stream banks. More sewage is discharged into streams that weren't "designed by nature" to handle that much water.

The use of too many large wells can lower the underground water table. This can cause other wells to run dry, can cause saltwater to be drawn into drinking-water wells, and can cause land that was formerly "held up" by underground water to subside, resulting in sinkholes and land subsidence.

If you are around PLEASE come and support us. Broomfield has agreed to expand from 1,700 homes to over 4,000. The new City Plans want us to take another 1,500 homes. Main Road can't cope and it is already a traffic jam; this initiative to slow ambulances further is a fatality waiting to happen.

The Chronicle are sending a professional photographer and we need bodies in the photo….

Tuesday 29 December 11am

Outside St Mary's Church, Church Green

The Church car-park will be open from 10:45am. to park