Local Plan 2011-2031 Proposed Submission Draft

I feel that this development is totally out of proportion in relation to the size of the existing town of Baldock. I can understand that the town will need to accept some additional housing, but a development on this scale is beyond being acceptable.
Baldock is a fantastic town to live in, but the existing infrastructure is already stretched by the current population. The roads are crowded, without adding a possible 6000+ cars into the equation. We have insufficient dentists and doctors for the number of people. Regardless of what is being promised in terms of a community hub of shops and services, there is still going to be significant negative impact on the existing town.
Turning to schools, we currently have three primary schools, 2 of which are oversubscribed, and a secondary school which is also massively oversubscribed. Despite proposals including new schools to cope with the number of children coming to live in the development, the juvenile population of the town will become bisected. I fear that without additional provision for the young people of the town, we will see a rise in crime and unrest between the 'old town' and the 'new town' factions.
Commuting to work, especially if the new residents have to travel to London, is going to be especially difficult as the railway service is due to be curtailed, and roads are going to hugely congested.
Overall, this should be considered a new town, should be moved away from Baldock and considered a separate entity rather than an extension of a beautifully proportioned and friendly town.

Proposing to build 95 homes on the end of these cul-de-sacs is preposterous. The homes would be far to crammed in and small. The land has been used as a recreational area by local residents for years and as such, would be a great loss to the estate, and wider population, as a whole.
The access to the site could not safely be taken from Aleyn Way and/or Rhee Spring, as neither road is wide enough to accomodate the additional traffic from the development.
There is also an integrated proposal for an access/link road joining B656 Royston Road and Wallington Road (currently closed to traffic). This is set to cut straight across the base of the bund created for the existing Baldock Bypass. This is completely going against the assurance that we were given, when the Bypass was built, that there would not be development of any kind behind Aleyn Way. The building of this additional road, linking into this new development and the rest of the estate as a whole, would lead to it becoming a rat run for people cutting through to the south side of Baldock from the north, to try and avoid the major congestion at the Clothall Road/Whitehorse Street/ North Road/ Royston Road crossroads. This would lead to a real danger for the children and animals who live in the road and use the route to reach the open ground to the rear of Aleyn Way or the playground in the midst of the estate.
Also, should this be built, people would again lose access to a safe area of recreational land. Run off from this road would impact on the foundations and gardens of the neighbouring houses backing onto it. There are a number of indigenous creatures and plants which would be endangered. The impact on the local environment would be huge and detrimental.