From Chloe “Branny”Branwhite on Bridport N0tice page
As a young person hoping to move to the area, what worries me about the Vearse Farm development is that it will make Bridport something of a mini-version of where I currently live (east London) and spoil some of the very reasons I’m moving to the town. I don’t claim to be an expert on the situation in Bridport – far from it – but I have been a regular visitor for fifteen years now. I don’t disagree that there is a need for social housing (just as there is in my local area) – certainly if I was moving to Bridport on my own – well, frankly I couldn’t afford to. But need the development be so *big*? Especially when a lot of the houses aren’t even going to be “for the locals” as such. I have read somewhere that they will be for “economic migrants”, which doesn’t sound very local to me. Will there be enough jobs for these people (I am expecting to commute) or the infrastructure to support such a large influx of people? Are there enough school places for their children or places where those same children can go after school? There is currently an average three week wait where I live to see a GP – while I doubt the Medical Centre could get that bad, are the people of Bridport prepared for potentially waiting longer to see a doctor, or a dentist? Instead of a rush hour, are you prepared for a rush two, three or even four hours because of the inevitable increase in traffic? What about those who rely on the bus to get around (such as myself), will there be enough room for them to get on and get to work on time where they do find employment? Yes, the development will probably bring some short-term employment while is being built and yes, local businesses will probably benefit from potentially 1500+ plus regular customers once the houses are occupied. But would it really be worth it to build quite so many, when there is no guarantee that they simply won’t become more holiday and/or retirement properties, with few or none for the local people who really need them? By all means, build some houses (though I hear the proposed site is a floodplain, so its maybe not the greatest place). But eight hundred is, in the opinion of this grockle, far too many.