I would like to offer the following objections relating to Site 4 Dickens Heath

- 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 bootcamp on the rugby field. It is vital that we allow people to exercise for their mental health as well as physical health and building over these fields will destroy that. Even if they relocate, it will cause unnecessary hardship and disruption to all those that currently train there so why force them to relocate when there are also so many other reasons not to build on this site.

- The land is high grade GREEN BELT – Government policy is to protect Green Belt and develop Brownfield land first. Have you fully explored brownfield land that could be built on instead of this? Why are you looking to build on this when it is high grade green belt?

- 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. Where will the deer etc go when the fields are built on?

- The narrow rural road network cannot take further development and is already overloaded. The roads are often used when there are problems on the motorway and there is often severe congestion right through the village at peak times.

- 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.