No
Draft Local Plan Review
Representation ID: 3098
Received: 15/02/2017
Respondent: Gemma Kentish
Object to housing Site 18 as would be a health and safety to children walking to schools and colleges, schools already oversubscribed, concern about access for emergency vehicles, will exacerbate existing traffic congestion/gridlock in peak hours, will result in loss of parking at Arden club, loss of pitch undermines importance of sport in area with few facilities when benefits of exercise are known and people should be encouraged to take up sport.
Proposed Housing Allocation 18
I am writing to inform you of my objection to the proposed planning allocation for the building of houses on what was the rugby ground on Sharmans Cross Road in Solihull.
I have numerous concerns regarding this, and therefore deem it unsuitable for this site to be considered for such a housing development. Below I have outlined my concerns.
Firstly, I feel that this can be considered a health and safety issue due to the large volume of children walking around the area during rush hour due to not only the primary school but other schools and colleges in the surrounding area. Furthermore, these local schools are already over-subscribed and the addition of 100 houses will only increase the severity of this issue. Another concerning factor is the possible accessibility issues for the emergency services if ever required by anybody in the road.
Furthermore, the proposed development will worsen the already existing traffic congestion in the road. Sharmans Cross Road is gridlocked from around 8am to 9am in the mornings when I am making my way to Sixth Form as a result of traffic joining Streetsbrook Road and from around 3pm to 5pm as a result of parking for Sharmans Cross Primary School. It is also difficult at times to exit the drive of my house. The addition of more houses will only make traffic congestion in the road more of a serious problem. I also worry about the loss of car park spaces at Arden Tennis Club, as surely members will be required to resort to parking on the road, which will only create further congestion.
What also concerns me is the necessary destruction of this sports pitch, and what this says about the way in which sport is being valued. The benefits of exercise are known to all and I think it is incredibly important to encourage people to take up sports. Therefore I fear that destroying a sports pitch undermines the importance of sport, and feel that some sort of sports development would have a much greater positive impact on the community, as I do not feel there is necessarily a great abundance of sports facilities in the local area.
To conclude, because of the reasons I have outlined above, I strongly object to this proposed housing development and request that it is not progressed further.