Objection to LDP - Site 245
I would like to put forward my objections to Site 245 (Sharmans Cross Road Old Rugby Ground) being included in the Local Development Plan:
1. My primary reason is the site has an existing covenant to be used for sporting purposes and ancillary facilities to sport. This has been in place since the 1960's and the council reaffirmed this as policy in 2013, agreed by an all party meeting of the council. Therefore, the site must be maintained as a sports venue and not be re-designated as suitable for housing.
2. When Oakmoor (Sharmans Cross Limited) bought the lease to the pitches and freehold of the adjacent site, they agreed to respect all the covenants.
3. Oakmoor have consistently refused to honour these commitments to maintain the site as a sporting facility, and over the last ten years the site has been unused and become more derelict.
4. Solihull Council must honour its commitment to the residents of Solihull and the policy to ensure the site is used for sporting activities.
5. There is an obvious need for the site to be used as a sporting facility as various sports organisations have approached Oakmoor to use the site, but these have been consistently refused. It is clear Oakmoor are not abiding by their stated intention to meet the obligations of the covenant.
6. The country has an increasing issue with obesity and health related issues, therefore the council should be encouraging and promoting physical and sporting activities across a wide range of sporting venues.
7. Adjacent to the Site 245 are Solihull Arden Tennis Club, Solihull Football Club and Sharmans Cross Junior School, all with longstanding and well used sports grounds and facilities, of which the former Rugby Club was an integral part. The site should be maintained as a sports ground and the venue redeveloped to reinstate the former status quo. This will promote a cohesive sports facility enabling access by a wide range of ages, abilities and interests.
Further objections related to any proposed development:

8. Over Development: The proposed development of 67 / 100 houses is completely out of character with the surrounding area - roads such as Sharmans Cross Road, Winterbourne Road and Welcombe Grove.
The proposal of 100 houses is 15% MORE than the 87 houses proposed by Oakmoor developers 8 years ago, which the council turned down.
The 100 houses or dwellings would inevitably be accomplished by using buildings of multiple floors which is completely out of character with the surrounding area.

9. Traffic Congestion: 100 houses would inevitably lead to increased traffic and congestion on an already very busy road. Some owners / occupiers may have no cars; many will have more than one.

10. Increased Dangers to Pedestrians and Cyclists: The greatly increased volume of traffic will create additional dangers for pedestrians and cyclists (who use the designated cycle route), including the many young school children who walk and cycle to the nearby Sharmans Cross Junior school. The Council's Road Safety Team has been working with the school to promote walking and cycling to school. The development would increase the dangers to the children.

11. Parking Congestion: The very high density of housing proposed would lead to parking congestion on site and nearby roads. New developments lack sufficient provision for owner or visitor parking. This will lead to vehicles being parked on adjacent roads such as Sharmans Cross Road, Woodside Way, Dorchester Road and Winterbourne Road.

12. Environment: The area is a well-established green space with many mature trees and areas of wildlife, including bats and badgers. I regularly see bats flying around my garden.