I want to object to the council proposed plans to build yet more housing in the Dickens Heath area for the following reasons.
There are numerous sports fields included so this will affect our children (and adults) who play rugby and football on these fields, including Old Yardleians Rugby Club, Highgate Football Club and Wychall Wanderers Football Club, as well as Fitbox boot camp on the rugby field.
- The land is high grade GREEN BELT – Government policy is to protect Green Belt and develop Brownfield land first.
- Site 4 is surrounded by Local Wildlife Sites and Ancient Woodland – this will be so detrimental to the deer, badgers, bats and other wildlife that roam in these fields and adjoining woodland.
- The narrow rural road network cannot take further development and is already overloaded.
- Site 4 is mostly in flood Zone 1, these fields flood every winter and whenever there is a particularly heavy rainfall as the area is of bolder clay that restricts permeability.
- Sustainability – Some of the mitigation measures included in the Plan are not achievable, therefore it isn’t sustainable. Other sites are more sustainable.
- The character and setting of the Village will be adversely affected and sense of community and identity compromised. There are strong, definable boundaries to the existing Village being the canal and the woodlands and ancient hedgerows.
In addition to this the local infrastructure cannot cope with the existing housing and population. To add to this will severely worsen the situation.
There are plenty of brownfield site in the Solihull MBC area that could be built on rather than further r eroding the green belt.