The South East Essex Green Party Executive Committee, its Councillors and its Candidates for last’s years national elections have written to Cllr Daniel Cowan (Leader of Southend-on-Sea City Council, and our two MPs, David Burton-Sampson and Bayo Alaba with our formal objection regarding the New Towns Taskforce application.
You can read our letter below:
Dear Cllr Cowan, Mr Burton-Sampson and Mr Alaba,
We are writing to express our strong objection to the inclusion of the area commonly referred to as ‘Bournes Green’ in the city’s submission to the New Towns Taskforce.
We firmly oppose any further development on Southend’s Green Belt for the following critical reasons:
1. Food Security
The UK is becoming increasingly vulnerable to food shortages as climate change accelerates. Extreme weather, both drought and flood, is already placing significant strain on farmers. According to recent research by Anglia Ruskin, York, Bristol, East Anglia and City universities, such climate-related pressures are now the leading cause of concern for future food supply, with warnings of potential civil unrest.
The National Farmers’ Union (NFU) has called on the Government to better support domestic food production, and Abi Reader, Deputy President of NFU Cymru, has warned of erratic rainfall and extreme conditions threatening long-term food security. With this in mind, the Government should be prioritising the protection and restoration of our best agricultural land, not building over it. Incentivising farmers to farm the land through natural, organic farming.
2. Biodiversity and Nature Loss
We are in the midst of an ecological emergency. The World Wildlife Fund reports a 73% average decline in global wildlife populations over the past 50 years. Here in the UK, the House of Lords has noted a 19% drop in species since 1970, and insect populations have plummeted, Buglife and Kent Wildlife Trust found a 60% decline in just 20 years.
The destruction of any remaining natural spaces, including our Green Belt, is simply unacceptable at this critical time.
3. Housing: Broken System, Misguided Solutions
The housing crisis cannot be solved by sacrificing our green spaces for unaffordable private developments. A recent study found developers are sitting on land with capacity for over 1.4 million unbuilt homes. Granting yet more permissions only rewards land-banking, not housebuilding.
Meanwhile, hundreds of thousands of homes lie empty, locked in probate, used as short-term lets, or held as second homes. The stamp duty system disincentivises downsizing, and there is a chronic lack of genuinely affordable council housing.
The solution lies in building well-planned, energy-efficient social housing on brownfield sites, embedded within existing communities. The years-long delay to the Better Queensway regeneration scheme underscores the need for direct investment and political will, not more sprawl.
4. Infrastructure: The Wrong Direction
Adding thousands of homes without major investment in sustainable infrastructure will only increase car dependency, congestion and emissions. Southend’s recent bus cuts have forced more people into private vehicles, creating a feedback loop of declining services and rising traffic.
New developments must be designed around public and active transport, not more roads.
5. Southend’s Local Plan and the Bournes Green Site
The Draft Local Plan makes it abundantly clear: the Bournes Green site is Grade 1 agricultural land, of the highest quality, and would suffer “High Harm” from development. It is not suitable for reclassification under the so-called ‘Grey Belt’ concept.
We are concerned by claims from certain councillors questioning the land’s condition without offering any evidence. If there is genuine belief that the land is degraded, it should be submitted for rewilding under the appropriate DEFRA schemes, not put forward for irreversible development.
Conclusion
The case against building on our Green Belt could not be stronger. The evidence is overwhelming: our agricultural land must be protected, our natural world restored, and our housing crisis addressed in smarter, more sustainable ways.
We therefore urge you to join Rochford District Council in calling for Southend’s withdrawal from the New Towns Taskforce application process, and to make clear your opposition to any future proposals to build on Green Belt land across the city.
Yours sincerely,
Cllr Stuart Allen, Leader of the Green Group & Councillor for Leigh Ward
Cllr Richard Longstaff, Councillor for Leigh Ward
Tilly Hogrebe, 2024 Candidate for Southend West & Leigh
Simon Cross, 2024 Candidate for Southend East & Rochford
And the South East Essex Green Party Executive:
James Vessey-Miller, Fiona Clapperton, Vida Guildford, Simon Gittus, Lauren Ekins, Sarah-Ann Jardine, RJ Learmouth, Eva Mansfield,AJ Sutherland, and Peter Walker