PROPOSED HOUSING ALLOCATION 18

I am writing to express my objections to PHA 18. That said, I would like to preface my comments by stating that I would not object per se to a local planning application. We are all to aware of the socio-economic damage caused by the national housing shortage. However, I strongly disagree that a borough by borough solution can be found to a national problem and, moreover, "in-fill" developments in urbanised areas, with an already over-stretched infra-structure are going to do little to nothing to address the deficit issue and could in fact create and/or exacerbate problems in the local community.

With specific regard to PHA18; it should be noted that Sharman's Cross Road, Blossomfield Road, Danford Lane and Streetsbrook Road (the roads that effectively circling the proposed development) are already subject to periods of acute traffic congestion and this is not merely confined to school dropping off times and the rush hour but grid-locks in "off-peak" hours are increasingly frequent because, quite simply, the existing volume of traffic already exceeds the road infra- structure's capacity. There are, of course, a number of important ancillary issues associated with an increase in the amount of traffic such as road safety and pollution.

Turning to the facility itself. Let us be under no illusion, first rate sporting amenities make a significant contribution to the overall quality of life within the Borough. These pitches have hosted Championship level rugby (Harlequins RFC visited Sharman's Cross Road not that long ago) and these snooker table flat pitches, which have been nurtured and developed over decades cannot be similarly replaced. Indeed, in line with the "sporting use covenant" that currently applies to the ground, surely development of the site should focus on establishing new sporting activities on these irreplaceable assets.

Moving on. There is an existing issue with the high water table at and around the development site. Standing water and road flooding are not uncommon during periods of high rainfall. A number of properties in the immediate vicinity of PHA18 have already been under-pinned. There is a very real danger that the proposed development could well exacerbate this problem.

Sirs, finally I would suggest that there are a multiplicity of factors which combine and contribute to the overall quality of life within the Borough. Top level sporting facilities are a key component as is an infra-structure (roads, medical and educational) which adequately and efficiently serves the needs of the local community. If these become too over-burdened it is to the detriment of us all.

Yours faithfully,