I wish you to register this email as my submission and objection to the proposals in the Solihull Local Plan dated October 2020. In particular I am writing to object to the proposals under Blythe BL1. My objections are as follows:

1.I jointly purchased the above address on 31st January of this year and in that short time I have encountered numerous incidents of flooding in my road and the surrounding area. The water table is high, my garden is already sodden from the rain this week and the culvert on my boundary appears as a river, despite the beginning of the culvert only being some 10 years beyond my property. Traffic already suffers from being diverted when the road floods and alternate routes need to be taken. I am aware that this year, since I’ve moved here, Haslucks Green Road, Birchy Leasowes Lane, Houndsfield Road, Norton Lane / Rumbush Lane junction and Dickens Heath village itself have all had diversions because of flooding in the roads.

2.My property overlooks the fields in question, which are immediately adjacent. There is an enormous amount of wildlife in these fields. There are daily sightings of deer and foxes. We have owls, bats, woodpeckers and any amount of beautiful birds who will lose their extensive rich habitat if the proposed development takes place.

3.The village of Dickens Heath is within my walking distance but it is already at capacity. Parking is frequently an issue, even with the slowdown of lockdown and tier 3 it is impossible to pop into the village to collect a takeaway or do some essential shopping at the one shop (Tesco) without being prepared to wait for a parking space. The character of the village will be detrimentally changed with a large development on this site as it appears that the proposals would increase the capacity of dwellings by some 20%. There is only one doctors surgery AND NO POST OFFICE in Dickens Heath. Despite the proposals for a walkway or a cycle path, this would not sufficiently service the additional population with their daily needs and the roads, which are already busy and overloaded, would not be able to cope.

4.Birchy Leasowes Lane is narrow. Traffic already has to slow down to pass oncoming traffic. The road cannot be widened as it has drainage ditches both sides. The end of Birchy Leasowes Lane at the junction with Tilehouse Lane is a traffic blackspot as faster moving traffic in the latter road speeds around the bend at the point of the junction and there is no proper visibility.

5.The site itself is prime greenbelt land. It is the government’s policy to use available brownfields sites in priority. The site is not suitable for development. It is prone to flooding within its boundaries.

6.The Solihull Local Plan (paragraph 65) discusses spatial strategy. I suggest that the land in question is not highly accessible. It is bounded by two lanes and a B road which is already at capacity. One of the lanes is so narrow that it has traffic calming bollards only allowing one vehicle through at once. There is a suggestion that the proposed settlement will be able to take advantage of the existing facilities in the village. The village cannot cope with such expansion. It was not designed for such an expansion and the village is already larger than originally planned for. The nearest primary school is at capacity and has no chance of expansion. The second nearest primary school would be a drive away (not a walk) for most of the new development.

7.There is a suggestion that some of the proposed new housing would be for those wishing to downsize or for those needing care. Nearby Shirley Town, along the busy A34, has several new developments catering for this need and far outnumbers other types of housing.

8.There are bus stops around the village. The service is poor, buses are rare. Prior to the pandemic the car park at Whitlocks End station was at capacity, in fact there is no space to be had in the car park after 7.30am. so public transport will need to be enhanced.

9. There is a suggestion that the existing sports facilities, football clubs etc will be rehoused. They are perfect where they are. Moving them may not be adequate and would inevitably mean more cars on the roads as the existing ones are accessed from the urban edge of Birmingham, and not through the countryside.