Draft Local Plan - Supplementary Consultation

North Solihull, Marston Green & Castle Bromwich

Question 31 - Infrastructure Requirements at North Solihull/Marston Green/Castle Bromwich

The suburbs would benefit from opportunities to expand the mix and affordability of housing however the lack of sites will impact on the extent to which this can be achieved.

Developmentin the North of the Borough is largely focused around the remaining regeneration opportunities, in particular those presented through the redevelopment of older housing stock and precincts. As part of this there is the opportunity to further address existing issues relating to:

Improving the skills base and access to employment–The North Solihull area itself has very limitedemployment and commercial floor space and with car ownership lower than in other parts of the Borough access to jobs is limited. North Solihull forms one of the four zones identified through the UK Central programme which seeks to redistribute the benefits of the wider scheme.

Improving the mix and quality of housing – Although the regeneration programme has made significant progress the area continues to require improvements in the quality of the housing stock and to ensure a mix in the type and tenure. Where the existing housing is in a mix of private and public ownership the ability to deliver improvements may be limited and require more complex delivery mechanisms.

Improvements to Chelmsley Wood Town Centre and Kingshurst Village Centre – A master plan is emerging to redevelop and enhance theexisting centre which ischaracterised by older, poorer quality 1960s retail and residential units. This may present opportunities for providing additional housing in the area. A master plan is also being prepared for Kingshurst Village Centre.

Improving access to public transport - The provision of a well integrated public transport system is key to provide access to jobs and facilities outside the area. It is proposed that as part of the development of the UK Central Hub there will be improvements which will provide access to the facilities and opportunities presented by the new development.

Public space enhancements – There are still pockets of the built up area which would benefit from environmental enhancement to improve amenity and sense of place. It is important that public realm improvements continue to be pursued as part of the redevelopment of the remaining sites and that any further regeneration opportunities do not compromise existing public open spaces such as playing pitches, unless the impacts can be mitigated. The supply of open space is already constrained therefore finding replacement facilities in the local area will be challenging.

Question 32 - Site 7 - Kingshurst Village Centre

Site 7 – Kingshurst Village Centre (capacity 100)

This site is subject to an emerging masterplan for the redevelopment of the former Kingshurst village centre. This will include the demolition of the existing retail and residential units and redevelopment for mixed use. Further work is being undertaken to determine the capacity of the site dependant on the suitable replacement of existing homes and businesses. The mechanism for delivering the development whilst accommodating the short term relocation of residents and businesses needs to be determined.

Question 33 - Site 15 - Jenson House/Auckland Drive

Work is currently in progress to determine whether and to what extent this site may be available to accommodate residential development. For present purposes a reduced indicative capacity has been included in the land supply. The site also includes a playing field which if lost as part of a development proposal would need to be mitigated and this may reduce capacity of the site.