Please accept below my response to the Local Plan Review Consultation.

My initial comment is that distribution of new housing in the Borough is biased towards two geographic areas resulting in 31% of the total being proposed in the Balsall Common area within the Meriden ward and 39% within the Shirley South and Blythe ward areas that are geographically adjacent. The majority of the land involved is within the Green Belt. The Shirley South site is site 11 within the previous iteration of the Local Plan document, which is in the process of being built.
There are proposals included in other wards which are not particularly significant in terms of housing numbers and consequent impact on those local areas.
The document refers to proposed housing provision within Solihull town centre and the Arden Cross and National Exhibition areas adjacent to the proposed HS2 railway station. No numbers are provided within the current iteration of the Local Plan document for either of these locations. This is a significant omission from this version of the document as it means that inclusion of the detail for these sites could take a significant amount of pressure off the areas detailed above and reduce the amount of Green Belt that is currently committed within the document.
A further significant impact of the proposals is the situation regarding local school places at the primary level. This is a particular issue within the Blythe ward area. Primary schools exist at Cheswick Green, Dickens Heath and Tidbury Green. All are currently single form entry with nursery units. The sites in the Local Plan document within the catchment areas of these schools are BL1 in Dickens Heath, BL2 at Dog Kennel Lane and BL3 also in Dickens Heath. Two sites currently being built which have an impact are site 11 from the previous iteration of the Local Plan and a further development at the Blythe Valley Business Park site.
Dickens Heath school is single form entry with no scope for expansion. Both Cheswick Green and Tidbury Green primary schools are in the process of being extended to two form entry. A further two form entry primary school is proposed as part of site BL2.
My main concern regarding primary level schooling in the area is that the increased number of houses will generate significant traffic level increases in the surrounding area on what are already busy roads with some effectively being country lanes. This will also significantly increase already high traffic pollution during school drop off and pick up periods. This will have an impact on the Council’s developing Net Zero Carbon plan.
Congestion is already a problem around both Dickens Heath and Cheswick Green schools as there is no off road parking provision at those two locations.
Another concern is that the Local Plan proposals in its current form will add to the existing significant pressures on the local health service provision. There are no documented proposals to enhance the existing local health service provisions to support the increased number of residents.
The proposals also cause merging of the existing settlements within Blythe ward.
Potential flooding in the area is also a concern. Rainfall run off from the sites discussed feed into the river Cole to the north and the river Blythe to the south. The river Cole impacts on roads within Shirley West ward, particularly Nethercote Gardens. The area has suffered from two one in a hundred years flooding incidents within the last 15 years. The river Blythe impacts on Cheswick Green village In Blythe ward and the lower part of the village has also been impacted by two one in a hundred years flooding incidents within the last 15 years.
The proposed local plan does not conform totally with the sentiments of the National Planning Policy Framework which contends that brown field sites should be considered ahead of Green Belt land for housing. The Arden Cross area and Solihull town centre fall into this category and their use to support housing should be considered ahead of use of Green Belt land.
The climate change agenda suggests that locations for housing should be sustainable and not car dependant. Within Blythe ward all roads are very busy and not conducive the cycling and walking. Local bus services are infrequent and follow circuitous routes which are not conducive to encouraging large numbers of users. Consequently there is a high dependency on the use of private cars in all of the settlements within the area. The proposed developments will only make the current situation worse with consequential increase in local pollution.
There is no defensible boundary identified between site BL2 and Cheswick Green village.
My final concern is that there are mainly inaccuracies within the issued Local Plan.