No
Draft Local Plan Review
Representation ID: 2835
Received: 14/02/2017
Respondent: Alex Gee
Object to housing Site 18 as will result in loss of playing pitches and recreational facility when there is a critical shortage of pitches and facilities for matches and training in area, should be retained in line with policy to use for sport only with leaseholder forced to deliver to local community, loss of wildlife, exacerbate traffic congestion, pollution and gridlock at both ends of Sharmans Cross Road and development has previously been refused as site unsuitable and unavailable.
Proposed Housing Allocation 18
I write to register my objection to this site being put forward for development. My strong objection is based on the its effect in losing recreational space and sporting facilities within our local area. I'm also concerned about the increase in traffic and pollution.
It's a valuable recreational space and sporting facility
Having played for several of our local football teams over the past 12 years I know there is a critical shortage of pitches and open space for matches and training in our local area. We cannot afford to allow a developer to 'sit ' on pitches and refuse them to be used for the specific purpose that the lease was granted, let alone lose it permanently to housing development.
We desperately need this space for sports pitches and it must be retained. SMBC has formally minuted its policy with regard to the use of the grounds only for sport and that they would not sell the freehold. The current leaseholder must be forced to deliver this sporting facility to the local community.
It's a delightful nature rich site
I live close to the site and it am pleased to regularly experience its diverse flora and fauna and natural areas of vegetation adjacent to the Pow Grove woodland. Its home to a wide variety of wildlife including foxes, rabbits, hedghogs to say nothing of many species of wild birds. This includes many that are not common, that I regularly see, such as woodpeckers, hawks and falcons. In the summer evenings we also enjoy watching the bats fly back and forth.
It will be a crime to lose this natural area and displace all the wildlife, the community will be much the poorer for it.
Traffic increase, gridlock and pollution..
During peak periods both ends of Sharmans Cross road are gridlocked. To get to Solihull you have to sit in a hundred yard queue to the complex junction with Streetsbrook Road. To go the other way you have a long queue to the island at Danford/Prospect lane. These queues are pouring out exhaust pollution. The proposed development will create another long 'feeder' queue from the side road of cars trying to get in to the Sharmans Cross Road queues. It already often takes me half an hour to get from my house out to the by pass and motorway, a distance of only 2 miles or so, the additional cars will make it worse.
This site should not be included in the LDP. The submission from Cerda Planning is a replay of a applications previously refused on overwhelming evidence of the unsuitability and availability of this site.