Site 3

I wish to object to the proposed inclusion of Area 3 between Windmill Lane and Kenilworth Road, Balsall Common, for development as housing. The proposal fails to take into account the effect on the adjacent historic Berkswell Windmill, Listed Building grade II*, which is located immediately adjacent to the east of the site.
I have been involved with this windmill for 43 years, initially from 1973 assisting the then owner with its care and maintenance, and more recently assisting English Heritage (now Historic England) and the current owner as project manager to complete the recent restoration work, which was largely funded by public money. The mill which dates from 1826 is an outstanding example of a small south midlands tower mill, and is the only complete windmill in the West Midlands Metropolitan Area. It is in full working order, and fully deserves its high grade listing, putting it into the top 9% of all buildings of outstanding historic interest in England. Solihull Policy P16 requires the safeguarding of heritage assets, and requires the assessment and demonstration of how an asset can be conserved in a manner appropriate to its significance prior to any development. SHELAA ref 138 relating to Area 3 ignores the mill and does not satisfy this requirement.
Conservation requires that top historic buildings retain their original context, and for windmills this includes maintaining their status as valuable features in the landscape. It requires distant views to be retained, and obstructions to windflow to the mill to be minimised. Although a few houses were built nearby before the mill was listed, and some trees have been allowed to grow, the area to the southwest of the mill remains clear. Importantly, this is the direction of the prevailing wind, and the proposed housing development could seriously interrupt the airflow and create difficulties with operation of the windmill in the future. The trees are of relatively short life varieties and can be cleared where necessary, but houses and flats would create permanent obstructions and should not be allowed.
A major related problem is the amount of traffic already in the area making entry and exit to the mill hazardous. Congestion on the A452 rapidly spills over into Windmill Lane past the windmill. Amazingly the draft local plan review paragraph 266, while explaining that an increase in traffic on the A452 trunk road is expected resulting from the future HS2 interchange and also from further developments in adjacent parts of Coventry, states that safeguarding a route for a by-pass road is no longer justified. Para. 267 confirms that there are no proposals for a bypass which would reduce the traffic on the adjacent sections of the A452. This situation makes any additional traffic from new housing in the area completely unacceptable.