Local Development Plan - Site 245
Please consider the following comments in response to the recent consultation
1. Sports pitches will disappear. In 2013 SMBC agreed to protect the use of the rugby ground for sport but high rental costs have meant that local teams cannot afford to use it; this non-use is now being put forward as an argument to allow building on the land. It has been suggested that the developer has imposed these high costs. Solihull Arden Club has used Sport England grants to build courts and then allowed them to fall into disrepair so that they have been unused. SMBC has a duty to promote participation in sport in every way possible. Permanent removal of the neighbouring facilities will threaten the survival of the tennis club.
2. The style and density of the development will be very different from the local area which has family homes. To fit 167 homes, flats will have to be included. Existing residents will lose privacy and there will be increased noise.
3. The traffic situation is already terrible in and around Sharmans Cross Road with rush hour gridlock affecting people going to and from work and schools. Their safety could be compromised and their health affected by traffic pollution.
4. There will be more demand for on-street parking spaces nearby; this is already a source of distress for some residents.
5. GP surgeries are already overstretched. 167 extra homes will put even more pressure on NHS resources.
6. Local schools are already full; extra families will put even more pressure on a stretched system.
7. There are some very old trees and many shrubs and bushes on the site which support local wildlife including some rare, protected species such as bats. Developing the site will damage the biodiversity.
8. The area is prone to flooding, affecting gardens in Winterbourne Rd and Sharmans Cross Road. When Sharmans Cross Road floods, there is traffic chaos. High density development of the suggested site can only worsen this situation.
9. National Planning Policy Framework - the development is too far from Solihull Station and the town centre to satisfy the accessibility requirements.