Proposed Housing Allocation 18

I am writing to express my concerns to the proposed plan for development of 100 houses on the Rugby ground on Sharmans Cross Road.

I do not believe the proposed plan is sustainable for the following reasons :-

* In terms of its impact on the local traffic :- The Sharmans Cross Road is already very congested, especially during the rush hours.
Adding more housing and family cars here will exacerbate the problem even more. In addition, increased traffic in the morning rush hour brings extra danger to the children entering Sharmans Cross Junior School.

* The Sharmans Cross Junior School is a larger than average three form entry school, and doesn't have the capacity to take the increase in children that the housing development will bring.
There are also no GP Surgeries close to the site, and even those further afield are heavily over subscribed.

* Removing even more sporting facilities from the area will not help with keeping our future generations fit and healthy.
As I understand it the current owners of the rugby ground claim the facilities e are not being used; but it has been reported that organisations have asked to use the rugby pitch only to have been not given any reply or been asked to pay over the odds for the use of the facilities.
Silhill Football club is a good example of this, they have repeatedly asked for talks about using the site, but been met with disinterest.
If all companies have to do is buy up sports grounds, then make them inaccessible for a while, then claim they aren't being used to be repurposed for lucrative housing - then what future do our sports facilities have?
Not having sports facilities at the heart of the community and having people drive to out-of-the-way venues will inevitably lead to a less participation, and worse health outcomes for our community.

* The land is subject to a restrictive covenant specifying that the land should only be used for sporting purposes.
At the cabinet meeting of 25th April 2013 the council's position was that it was not looking to sell the freehold or alter the lease. This suggests that it would be inappropriate to include the land in the local development plan.

* I've driven down Sharmans Cross Road during heavy rain, and even now the sewers cannot cope, leading to extensive flooding.
How are these same sewers going to cope with the extra run off from the new roads and drives where the grass field used to just soak it up?

* I would question the density of housing proposed on the site. 100 dwellings means that there is room for little or no off road parking.
This in turn leads to clogged roads, and poor visibility for pedestrians, especially children.
It also means no or very small gardens; if we can't get generations of kids outdoors in safe areas which provides no additional work for their overworked parents, won't we just be propagating our issues with ill health in the future?