Objection to the Proposed Housing Development at Allocation 13, Shirley

I wish to register my objection to the proposed housing development at Allocation 13 in Shirley.

I strongly object to your plans on the grounds of loss of Greenbelt land, loss of amenity land for local people, loss of rich local wildlife, and minimal evidence of consideration for expanding local infrastructure to cope with the additional population.

Why does Solihull Council think it is acceptable to concentrate circa 41% of their new housing requirements in the Shirley South area? Have any brownfield sites even been considered?

We have already been subjected to recent new developments, including Cheswick Place off Tanworth Lane and further developments extending Dickens Heath and Tidbury Green (Dickens Manor and The Paddocks), yet nothing has been done by the Council to improve local facilities and infrastructure to accommodate a vast increase of people moving into the area. Local roads around the new Dickens Heath developments cannot cope - Aqueduct Road is appallingly surfaced and too narrow, as is Peterbrook Road, also Birchy Leasowes Lane (which is downright dangerous due to lack of lighting and potholes that continue to not get repaired) and Dickens Heath Road. All of these roads have now become major commuting routes, but haven't been updated since being built as small green lanes to handle the odd horse & cart.

I commute via Dickens Heath to Cranmore Industrial Estate along Tanworth Lane each morning, and the traffic is already at a standstill each and every morning, without the addition of yet more new homes. It now takes me almost 25 minutes to travel the 'short' 3 mile commute by car, which is simply preposterous. These roads will need some serious improvements in order to cope with yet more traffic coming through the area, especially at rush hour. The Shirley area is already subject to a huge amount of congestion, which affects the whole of the Stratford Road from the M42 junction and all arterial routes, including Tanworth Lane onto Dog Kennel Lane onto the Stratford Road towards the M42 (which you should have noticed by now and at least attempted to improve!), Shakespeare Drive, Blackford Lane at the Dog Kennel Lane island, Haslucks Green Road and Bills Lane. Has Solihull Council even considered the unsustainable current levels of traffic, let alone in the future?

In addition, Allocation 12 next door also seems to direct all of its traffic onto the Dog Kennel Lane/Tanworth Lane pair of islands, and also onto the already saturated traffic of the Costa/Corus Hotel island... is it starting to become clear what a bad idea this Allocation 13 is?

At a recent drop-in meeting at Light Hall School, I overheard a gentleman asking the councillors about the issues of school places, GP surgeries, hospital and A&E admissions, and how these would be accommodated if the new housing developments including Allocation 13 were to go ahead. The answer given to the gentleman was, "It's too early to say." This is totally unacceptable. The vast majority of existing schools in the borough are currently oversubscribed as it is. Will you be building new schools? Will you be extending the existing schools? There isn't much evidence of any proposed improvements. What about the GP surgeries as well? It is already difficult to get an appointment without having to wait 4 days beforehand. In addition, we have all seen the recent news headlines about a crisis in the A&E departments across the region. How are Solihull Council proposing to accommodate the owners of an extra 2,500 homes, circa 10 THOUSAND people?

In terms of rail travel, I used to commute into Birmingham a couple of years ago via Shirley Station. There was never anywhere to park there. In addition, when boarding the train, it was next to impossible to get a seat, instead having to tolerate standing in the aisles for up to 25 minutes each morning and 25 minutes each evening. If any of the residents of the proposed new homes consider commuting to work via train, they will have an extremely disappointing experience.

Most importantly of all, however, Allocation 13 (amongst the other sites) is also designated GREENBELT land. Greenbelt means an area of open land around a city, on which building is restricted, yet you choose to ignore this!

The close proximity of this Greenbelt land to homes in the area, is a strong reason why homeowners choose to purchase their properties here - to enjoy the beautiful countryside and fresh air on our doorstep. Why should you be allowed to take this away, and concrete over beautiful rich, green land? Has Solihull Council done its utmost to select existing brownfield sites, for which the infrastructure is already in place?

This Greenbelt land separates an already high density housing area. I, along with my friends and family, use this area extensively for essential healthy walking exercise and enjoying the huge variety of wildlife, such as owls, foxes, bats, birds and more. The area is also used extensively by dog walkers and ramblers and I worry that you are not considering the impact that the loss of this will have on the local community. Development of this Greenbelt land will ensure that all recreational land between Shirley and the M42 will be practically lost, making the area a mass urban sprawl instead. Do you not value your local countryside?

What Solihull Council should be doing is not allowing the developers and house builders to conduct their own Environmental assessments, which I know goes on, as I work in the construction industry. These should be conducted by an independent third party, as it seems all too easy to bypass the 'exceptional circumstances' rule that currently prevents you from destroying the Greenbelt. Can Solihull Council explain and justify these 'exceptional circumstances'?

Whist you also extol the benefits of HS2, we are about as far away as it's possible to be from the proposed new line and stations in the whole area. Again, as HS2 is likely to generate even more visitors and commuters to the West Midlands, surely Solihull Council should be anticipating this and improving the infrastructure NOW, before deciding to sell off allegedly protected Greenbelt land for developers to clog up with substandard and undersized new homes?

I would like to remind you of Solihull's own motto, which is "Urbs in Rure", meaning "town in the countryside". There won't be much countryside left if you allow these 2,550 new homes to be built in our Borough, which is a deeply disturbing possibility.
I sincerely hope you renege on your proposals, and promise to honour our motto.