I wish to register my complaint regarding the above-mentioned site.
I previously wrote to you to register my objection to Allocation 13 back in 2017.
However, I understand that this has now been amended and is now referred to as Site BL3 - this is 300 houses off Bills Lane on Woods Farm.

As far as I know this site is still designated as green belt land.
Shirley South is to receive 39% of proposed new housing in the Solihull borough, this is disproportionate and unacceptable given the size of the borough. The effect will be to completely change the character of the area from a semi-rural location to an urban sprawl.

Under the government white paper 'fixing our broken housing market'
"The National Planning Policy Framework is already clear that Green Belt boundaries should be amended only “in exceptional circumstances”"
"authorities should amend Green Belt boundaries only when they can demonstrate that they have examined fully all other reasonable options for meeting their identified development requirements, including: – making effective use of suitable brownfield sites and the opportunities offered by estate regeneration; – the potential offered by land which is currently underused, including surplus public sector land where appropriate; – optimising the proposed density of development"
As far as I can see this revised proposal is simply an amendment of the previous and has not considered alternative sites.

What about the possibility of buying larger houses in Solihull which have huge gardens and developing small estates with mews or flats as opposed to the exclusive developments that are cropping up along Blossomfield Road - The government have stated that housing should concentrate on high density smaller, affordable homes, such as terrace, mews and flats. The footprint of these is much smaller than large detached houses.

I do not see the revised proposal as sustainable due to the high volume of houses in one focused area.

The Shirley area is already subject to a huge amount of congestion which affects the whole of the Stratford Road from the M42 junction and all arterial routes including Bills Lane, Shakespeare Drive and Haslucks Green Road. The addition of hundreds of new homes will compound this issue and there is not enough space for the road infrastructure to be improved enough to overcome this higher volume of traffic.

In terms of other public transport, the local rail stations are not fit for purpose, being very small and not large enough to serve the additional requirements of these large scale developments. There is inadequate parking at Whitlocks End, Shirley, Earlswood and Solihull Station.

Doctors are also overwhelmed with the current level of housing and an ageing population so increasing the demand by introducing new homes to the area is not sustainable.

In terms of Site BL3, this is an area that is a benefit to the environment as it is currently full of trees - the area can get waterlogged and if houses are to be built on this site how will this affect the environmental issues from a flood point of view let alone the wildlife that will be displaced? The area has grass land, marsh and heath land and there are well-established ponds providing a varied eco system.

I understand we need more houses to accommodate the growing population - I have two children who will need houses in a few years - however I do not believe this current proposal is the right answer - there needs to be a balance of smaller sites across the borough.
Please bear my points in mind when making your decision.