Over the past hundred years life has changed considerably and Chelmsford has grown beyond anything our grandparents could have or would have wanted to imagine. Yet whilst our jobs may have changed and the style of our housing may have changed, the fundamentals we need for a good quality of life have not.

The Countryside was part of their childhood, it was part of my childhood and it should be part of the next generations childhood too. Countryside is essential for life and we need it close and accessible to where we live, not a car drive away. We might work in our new City's offices, we might eat out in our new City's restaurants, but if we walk, run, cycle or paddle, we'd rather do it in the Countryside. We are drawn to it. It is our natural habitat, and when we return to it, all the stresses of modern life melt away.

This has been scientifically proven in Japan where they examined the effect of the practice of Forest Bathing on cortisol stress levels, heart rate and blood pressure, all of which were found to improve significantly by visiting the countryside. We need our Countryside as much as wildlife does, we've just forgotten!

For those living on the eastern side of Chelmsford, and particularly Chelmer Village, Baddow and Sandon, the stretch of the River Chelmer from Moulsham Mill to Sandford Mill and beyond, is the only natural haven of Countryside we have left. We need it for our physical and mental wellbeing. How many people do you see walking, running or cycling there and how much better do you and they feel for doing it?

Allocating parts of this area for development in the Local Plan and granting planning permission to Hopkins Homes and Redrow was and would be a terrible mistake. But as things stand, although the developers are winning, they haven't broken ground. We have a chance to see the error of our ways and put it right before it’s gone forever.

I don't know how. What I do know is something deep in my gut tells me it’s the right thing to do and if I find enough people with the same feeling, with the right knowledge, the right contacts, and the right amount of money, we may have some chance of saving it and so we have to try.

My name is Mike Parker and I am a Parish Councillor in Great Baddow, where I live. It was meeting some of the people who live in Sandford Mill, walking with them around the area, and a recent consultation our Parish Council had with residents about the Redrow development which prompted me to start this petition. Honestly I don't know anyone who has told me they want these developments. But we're forced to have them by a Government that holds a gun to our heads (metaphorically speaking), and neutered Councils with too little power or courage to stop it.

At the moment the developments proceed on the pretence that the majority support them, when I know and you know that the silent majority do not. By signing this petition you can show publicly that you don't want these developments, but you do want to save our green haven east of Chelmsford.

Thankyou.

p.s. Don't forget to share this petition with your friends and neighbours.

p.p.s. We'd love to hear your thoughts about these developments so please leave a comment. Did you even know they were planning to build here? You can also tell us, the developers, your Councillors and MP how you and your family use these areas and how you feel about them building over substantial parts of it.

CLARIFICATION: I think most people worked this out, but as I have had a few suggestions to clarify the location better, in this petition I am using "Sandford Mill" to describe the entire area around Sandford Mill Lane, which has the Hopkins development to the east, and the Redrow development to the west (see updates for a map), rather than the Sandford Mill Industrial Store on the other side of the river.