Object

Solihull Local Plan (Draft Submission) 2020

Representation ID: 14346

Received: 12/12/2020

Respondent: Paula Pountney

Legally compliant? Not specified

Sound? Not specified

Duty to co-operate? Not specified

Representation Summary:

• I do not consider 6 weeks consultation to have been enough time for the public to have had time to adequately study the plan and it has very unfairly been pushed through under the cover of the pandemic. It’s almost like a smokescreen and other Councils have given people much longer to state their opinions and this can only be detrimental to Shirley!
• It’s really difficult to comprehend why the Developers have so much power over Councils to force development on the Green Belt? Shirley has 3 Green Party Councillors acting on our behalf that are opposed to so much development, particularly on the Green Belt in Shirley. Surely, in a democracy they should have a great deal of influence, after being voted for by the people of Shirley? How can Solihull Council impose this plan and believe it is fair and equitable to the already wonderful town of Shirley?

Full text:

Draft Solihull Local Plan Consultation Response – Objections and points to be considered.
From Paula Pountney -
44 Langcomb Road,
Shirley,
Solihull,
West Midlands, B90 2PR 10.12.2020

With reference to the above, I understand that one of the main objectives and directives of the plan is to distribute development throughout the borough which is clearly not the case in this plan, as 39% is disproportionately designated to Shirley, with at least 5% being on the green belt.
• There has been a huge amount of development in the Blythe area already in the last 5 – 8 years and a significant amount more than elsewhere, is being planned additionally and this fact seems to have been disregarded.
• Site BL3 is designated as highest value green belt so why build there, when there are clear alternative options?
• Site BL1 is not sustainable, with the only advantage being it is near to Whitlocks End Railway Station. It is wholly inappropriate because it is very high grade green belt land around Dickens Heath rated 7 and 8 status and should have been a red site on the very first round of sustainability appraisals. I understand that The Campaign for the Protection of Rural England has stated that in paragraph 11B of the National Policy Framework because the site has very high areas of ecological value, including at least 4 nature reserves very nearby and a high flood risk, the constraints are proven to be so bad, it’s justified that this land should not be included for development.
• National government guidelines state that Natural Wildlife sites should have interconnecting routes, so why is site BL3 and BL2 included in the plan?
• Why have only such a small number of dwellings - in the region of 3000, been designated for the HS2 site, when it could easily accommodate three times that number? It would be a much superior option with great transport links, job opportunities and much less environmental damage.
• Regeneration in Chelmsley Wood - which appears to have little housing allowance being considered for the town, which is classed as an urban renewal area. This would be a much more appropriate area for extra development environmentally and for future sustainability.
• As previously recorded at the Council, the Solihull Town Centre Masterplan should be brought forward including many suggestions made several years ago. Following the very sad demise of Shops such as those in the Arcadia Group and also soon to be closed - House of Fraser, much of the redundant shop and office space could be re-developed for housing accommodation. It’s a stark fact that since the pandemic, many more people work from home and much of the structure of people’s lives have completely changed and this alone should be a critical reason for the overhaul of the whole plan.
• Alternative locations – such as the Tidbury Green Golf Course Site should be strongly considered as it’s nearer the Railway Station, and would allow preservation of the gaps between Shirley, Dickens Heath and Cheswick Green, preventing coalescence of areas.
• Why have the Council not agreed to these suggestions, in order to protect the majority of the sites on the greenbelt? More importantly, the kind of homes that are most needed, in locations that promote sustainable travel.
• Loss of vast amounts of sports grounds/playing fields with no mention of where all this valuable resource could be re-located? This would result in a loss of health and well-being to the community, which would be a total disgrace!
• The pandemic has had a drastic effect on Doctors Services already completely stretched and failing to keep pace with current demand. This is due partly to the existing retirement and extra care facilities, with more to follow. We know that there is an ageing population and the demographic is 30% higher in this area than the national average. This presents a massive challenge to existing services and should be acknowledged and mitigated by the plan. This has not been addressed, as far as I understand.
• I believe that there has been no extra provision for Hospitals, Dentists and other services featured in the plan. Infrastructure investment has not been clarified and the mechanisms designed to ensure Developers pay fair costs have not been outlined. The consequences of this could be disastrous, as future health and wellbeing have not been addressed. It should be mandatory, in my opinion that Developers are held to scrutiny regarding the protection and enhancement of high quality health and social care Services.
• Roads will be totally gridlocked in Shirley. The traffic is already to utmost capacity, resulting in even more air pollution and noise. This will really exacerbate problems to access the M42. It is also a really terrible idea for additional traffic to be fed through Bills Lane and Haslucks Green Road, which is already highly congested at peak times.
• The Blythe Valley is a well-known flood plain on mainly clay soil, while little or no recognition of this is mentioned in the plan. We are worried about the risk of flooding at the bottom of Bills Lane and Haslucks Green Road, as it is already prone to flood round this area. Will the Council and Developers compensate for any future damage done, as it’s a big risk?
• Solihull should not have to take an extra 2000 houses from the Greater Birmingham area. Andy Street has overseen a lot of development in the centre of Birmingham on derelict and brown field sites and they have brought in an extra £434million to clean up these sites for homes and businesses, easing pressure on Green Belt sites.
• I have been directly advised by Andy Street’s office that Solihull Council are working hard to get a Local Plan in place to provide a safeguard to communities across the borough against a barrage of speculative and unwelcome planning applications. The email stated that the Council have been determined to maximise the use of sites like UK Central and Solihull Town Centre to ease the pressure on the Green Belt Sites. The email states that there is a genuine and serious attempt to meet the challenge and he will continue to work with the Council to do whatever he can to help them in their ambition to defend the Green Belt.
• Is this truthfully the case? As I mentioned earlier in the point about building more development in Solihull town centre, Chelmsley Wood and UK central, why can this not be undertaken before the undesirable outcome of building on the precious Green Belt?
• This plan should be considered unsound as due diligence does not appear to have been carried out on analysing sustainability of the individual sites.
• I do not consider 6 weeks consultation to have been enough time for the public to have had time to adequately study the plan and it has very unfairly been pushed through under the cover of the pandemic. It’s almost like a smokescreen and other Councils have given people much longer to state their opinions and this can only be detrimental to Shirley!
• It’s really difficult to comprehend why the Developers have so much power over Councils to force development on the Green Belt? Shirley has 3 Green Party Councillors acting on our behalf that are opposed to so much development, particularly on the Green Belt in Shirley. Surely, in a democracy they should have a great deal of influence, after being voted for by the people of Shirley? How can Solihull Council impose this plan and believe it is fair and equitable to the already wonderful town of Shirley?
• Finally, please re-consider this contentious, unfair, unfinished plan adversely affecting Shirley. If continued, it will be a drastic legacy for the Council which will ruin the character and identity of Shirley.
Thank you
Regards

Paula Pountney