Solihull Draft Local Plan Review - Allocation 13

I am writing to register my objection to the development of Shirley South. Particularly Allocation number 13 which is designated green belt land.


Plans show that Shirley South is to receive approximately 41% of the new housing in the borough. Why? This is disproportionate and unfair.


Under the government white paper Fixing our broken housing market" it states that,


"Green Belt boundaries should be amended only in exceptional circumstances when local authorities can demonstrate that they have fully examined all other reasonable options for meeting their identified housing requirements".


I understand that there are numerous options yet to be explored and would be interested to know why these other options are not suitable?

The document also states that new housing allocation should be developed to compliment current and new infrastructure. If this is the case HS2 will be running to the North of the borough and not stopping anywhere near the proposed developments.


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 Dog Kennel Lane, Tanworth Lane, Shakespeare Drive, Blackford Lane (which has structural issues), Haslucks Green Road and Bills Lane. In addition, the main route out of Dickens Heath past the Miller and Carter is a constant flow of traffic, as are some of the local roads such as Burman Road, Bills Lane an Shakespeare Drive.
With the addition of this huge number of new homes this will compound congestion and traffic flow to an eventual standstill.

With regard to public transport, the local rail stations are not fit for purpose, being very small and not large enough to serve the additional requirements of these large scale developments. There is inadequate parking at Whitlocks End, Shirley, Earlswood and Solihull Stations. There are no spaces available at Shirley Station after 7am.

I am also very concerned that the area is not able to facilitate the large number of potential new families. This influx of new residents would be detrimental to our schools, doctors and dentists which are already full to capacity. Therefore this would mean that there would be a need for either school extensions or new schools, which would require more of our green land taken away.

Solihull hospital has been downgraded over the years and no longer has a paediatric department, the closest hospital being Heartlands. The trip to Heartlands is difficult and can take over an hour in traffic to get there.

In terms of Allocation 13. This is an area that has over the years has become a very popular recreation and amenity area, popular with families, dog walkers, ramblers etc. Myself included.

The area has a number of eco systems that range from grass land to marsh and heath land and even evergreen forest. There is a network of drainage ditches and well-established farm ponds and also a sink area which is effectively bog land. The area is very wet and for the most part of the winter is very boggy and forms a flood plain due to the very high water table and the constituent soil composition. This results in heavy flooding across most of this low lying area.
The network of ditches and ponds provides a varied eco system and I have seen frogs, toads and newts, along with Muntjac Deer, Cuckoo, Woodpecker and birds of prey.


I feel that Allocation 13 should become a recognised conservation and public amenity area serving Shirley South. Land has already been taken away from Shirley Park with a previous need for housing which has left a reduced amount of green space for residents to use. We need areas for general exercise to keep fit and healthy.

I am sure there are many alternatives to developing green belt sites and I am not convinced that all possibilities have been exhausted, both in smarter use of land.


I would be grateful if you could consider my objections when making your decision.