Re: LDP - Proposed housing allocation 18
Proposed development of Solihull Rugby Club

I would like to make an objection to the proposed development of 100 dwellings at the above site for the following reasons:

Development is inappropriate for the area
* Unacceptable overdevelopment and out of scale for the land available. This would equate to 5 times the density of other properties in this area such as those on Winterbourne Rd.
* The development would be out of character for this area
* There are no flats or town houses in this area
* It is likely buildings would be more than 2 stories high which would result in overshadowing and lack of privacy

Increased traffic and parking issues
* Accident will increase
* Traffic turning into and out of the proposed development and the increased traffic will pose a danger to pedestrians in general but particularly to school children
* The junior school is only a few meters away from the entrance to this proposed development. There will be cars turning into and out of the entrance whilst large numbers of children walk to school or are dropped off by car
* Danger to cyclists on a designated cycle route
* Increased traffic and parked cars will pose a danger and an inconvenience to the emergency services that use Sharmans Cross Road on a daily basis
* Road side parking will hinder the flow of busses on this bus route
* Lack of packing facilities for the development of houses and apartments will result in overflow street parking on the main road of Sharmans Cross Rd and other surrounding residential roads
* Traffic in this area is already a problem at peak times. Traffic on Sharmans Cross Rd is busy from 7.30-9.30 but extremely between 7.45 and 9am.
The proposed development will contribute to this bottle neck. Adding to the delays and leading drivers to seek alternative routes in the area causing 'rat runs'
* Loss of approximately 75 parking places for Arden Tennis club will add to this considerable problem

Ecology
* The loss of mature woodland, (some trees with preservation orders) will result in the loss of flora and fauna in this area
* The bat population will be destroyed as will the habitat for a vast range of wild life such as insects, small mammals, foxes, badgers etc at a time when we should be doing our upmost to protect what wild animal life and plant life we have left

Flooding and Pollution
* Water drainage is already a problem for this area with Sharmans Cross Road experiencing flooding on a regular basis
* This is particularly true of the area around the school and entrance to the proposed development
* Building on this site will result in further rain water not being soaked away into the ground
* The sewage drainage to homes on Sharmans Cross Rd can be challenging at the best of times, adding to the number of homes dependant on the sewage system will exacerbate this problem. This may result in a considerable health risk

Loss of amenity land
* These sports grounds are a unique and an important amenity
* The land has a covenant on that requires the land is used only for sport and recreational purposes
* SMBC minted in 2013 that they would not sell the freehold to sporting grounds
* The loss of this land to sport and recreation will create pressure on other sporting facilities in the area
* Solihull continues to fall in the national sports participation league and is shamefully now in the 3rd quartile nationally for over 16 participation in regular sporting recreation. Health experts are rightly concerned about children and adults not taking sufficient exercise which can lead to obesity and a multiple of heath issues
* Loss of parking facilities to the Arden Tennis Club will result in drop in members if they are unable to park, this will lead to a decline of the club, which is an important amenity for tennis tournaments, and the club will likely fold due to lack of members.

Schools and medical facilities
* These vital facilities are already oversubscribed. Further development will put an intolerable strain on current services which local residents already have some difficulty accessing

Sustainability
* The National Planning Policy Framework states that any new developments must have access to local amenities within a 800m or 10 minute walk
* This criteria is not met in this case, the proposed development is outside that distance. Solihull town centre being 17000m and the rail station being 1000m away

Previous rejection
* A previous application for building 87 dwellings on this land has already been rejected by Solihull council and another withdrawn
* This application is for 100 dwellings.

These are just some of the reasons that I strongly object to this proposed development As far as I am aware the reasons for refusal of planning have not changed.
Therefore I strongly urge you to reject it outright

I thank you for your consideration on this matter.