Object

Representation ID: 10739

Received: 10/12/2020

Respondent: Cheswick Green Parish Council

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

The Parish Council has submitted a detailed objection to the release of site BL2 from the Green Belt
for residential development and a school/nursery.
It is clear from the publication draft of the Local Plan that the objections have been dismissed by the
Council and, there is no new evidence that has been presented to justify the removal of land from
the Green Belt that the Council’s Green Belt Assessment 2016 rates as highly performing.
The land is rated as performing highly for the purpose of preventing towns and settlements from
merging into one another.
The Council rate the land for the purposes of its release from the Green Belt as moderately
performing despite the findings of the Green Belt Assessment 2016.
There is an existing and permanent Green Belt formed by Dog Kennel Lane. The Council propose to
bypass this existing feature and create a new boundary. It is suggested that an estate road would
fulfil this purpose.
Paragraph 139 indent F of the NPPF confirms that Green Belt boundaries should be defined by
recognisable features that are likely to be permanent.
The policy does not specifically state that a feature must be existing but, we are extremely
concerned that the creation of a boundary as proposed by the Council does not have the
permanence of the existing boundary and could be open to amendment and movement as time goes
by.
The release of the site from the Green Belt is not in accordance with national planning policy and 13
cannot therefore be justified.
The Council has not addressed the issues that have been previously raised concerning flood risk and
flood mitigation measures.
The evidence used by the Council acknowledges that there is a flood risk in the area but provides no
clarification of what type of mitigation will be used.
Policy BL2 uses the phrase that flood alleviation will be a likely requirement of development
proposals rather than it being essential.
There is a complete reliance on the planning application process to determine the type and extent of
any flood alleviation measures.
The land will have been released from the Green Belt by that point placing a presumption in favour
of development with no surety that appropriate flood mitigation will be provided.
The Parish Council has previously raised concerns over the traffic levels and congestion within the
area at the present time. The original objection includes details of the existing situation including
photographs of traffic congestion in the area.
Policy BL2 proposes up to 1000 homes and a school/nursery that will add to the existing traffic levels
in the area.
Yet, the Council has not produced a Transport Study for the site as has been done for development
in Knowle and Balsall Common.
The Council has not therefore provided justification that the development of the site will be
acceptable in traffic and infrastructure terms.
The site is also some distance from existing and emerging employment areas placing more emphasis
on the use of unsustainable transport options in conflict with policies P7 and P8 of the publication
draft Local Plan.
This also brings into question the distribution of development in the area which has been unfairly
stacked towards the Blythe area.
Policy BL2 and the 2020 Concept Master Plan for the site do not provide the required level of surety
that local heritage assets will be properly protected.
We have fully considered policy BL2 of the plan and the evidence used to support it.
The release of the land from the Green Belt for development is not justified and does not comply
with NPPF policy.
Policy BL2 is therefore not sound and we request that it is removed from the emerging Local Plan.