As Cheswick Green residents, my wife and I would like to express our objections to the proposed development on the above Green belt site. It is evident from looking at the map of Solihull that the effect of this will be to draw our area from being one of a series of rural developments into a continuation of urban Shirley. When we moved here in 2015, Cheswick Green had around 1,000 dwellings, which soon increased to 2,000 with the development of Cheswick Place; when Blythe Valley is complete the figure will be 3,000 and the proposed development would mean 4,000 plus dwellings, a huge increase in a very short time. Surely there must be more suitable areas for development in the Borough; one wonders whether enough use is being made of brownfield sites.

Currently there are local congestion problems, particularly around the local school, which will only get worse under existing developments. Additionally, access to the A34 will become increasingly difficult; one shudders to think how congested that stretch of road between the M42 and Shirley would be with the Site 12 development as it is currently often gridlocked during busy periods.

Furthermore, there will be extra pressure on local services, particularly medical. The GP surgery is already stretched and the wait to see a doctor can only grow longer with delays in making hospital appointments, too.

There are possible environmental factors, too. It is generally agreed that loss of green spaces can make flooding more likely and there are areas of of Cheswick that are already susceptible. Nationally the risk is increasing and this development can only make things worse.

All in all, we feel that this area has had its share of development in the last few years and should be left alone to adjust to those changes. We feel that Site 12 would be a step too far and that alternatives should be sought. After all there are few areas where cows and and sheep can safely graze so near the centre of the borough.