My comments would be, for the estates proposed that are near to Dickens Heath:
1) We have had flooding at the bottom of Birchy Leasowes Lane since we moved in, in 1975. It has been temporarily improved, but there was still some flooding on one of the new estates recently. It has to be a fact, that the more development there will be around this area, the more likely there will be flooding. The soil here is heavy clay and does not drain well.

2) The traffic in the early morning rush hour is a real problem. It’s not just at the exit towards Solihull, but right up at the next roundabout, and up Dog-Kennel Lane, where you are planning another large estate of housing. And the speed of the traffic at other times is often too fast. It would be a mistake to have more development when there is no room for better roads. There is no room for a bypass. And there is an acute shortage of parking spaces in the village, making congestion worse.

3) There is too much air pollution here, with many houses built too close to the road. To add so much more housing means more pollution from cars and lorries. It’s not good for health to have homes with doors and windows opening straight onto busy roads, especially when roads are narrow, increasing the density of the pollution.

4) We used to be able to walk on Birchy Leasowes Lane, and Cleobury Lane right down to the reservoir before Dickens Heath Village was built. Now that is tricky because of fast traffic and not pleasurable. There’s no footpaths. Braggs Farm Lane is being over-used, and therefore looks spoilt.

5) Green spaces are increasingly important in today’s world; our need for space to walk more, to exercise, to ride bikes, to enjoy trees and bird and plant life; these are all essential. Wildlife needs to be given priority if we are to enjoy our surroundings. This is an imperative for our planet! Let’s not make the need for housing overtake the need to make a good future for the next generations.

6) The football and rugby grounds are also good green spaces, for exercise and fun; they should not be lost.

7) More than anything, the sheer density of housing proposed is more than the area deserves; small growths of 20 to 30 houses would be reasonable if carefully sited along good highways, but 1,650 houses near the village of Dickens Heath would be excessive.(I’ve included houses on Dog-Kennel Lane as well as west and north of Dickens Heath, as these all affect this area.)