LDP-Proposed Housing Allocation18

I'd like to raise my concerns over the plan to build such a large number of houses on the old rugby fields on Sharmans Cross Road.

I have lived in Winterbourne Road for the last 22 years and although I am not originally from Solihull, I have grown to appreciate the feel of this area in which I have raised my family. We have been lucky to have lived here when the rugby club was here, working with the local schools to encourage children to take part in tag rugby games, which my children did. Often on a Saturady afternoon we would walk over to watch the team play. Having a local sports team like this in the heart of the community was great. When the club moved to a new ground it was always hoped that another team or sport would make use of the field but when it was left empty local residents continued to use and enjoy the open green space. It feels wrong build on fields that should be being used for sport and the proposed development is not in keeping with the area as it currently exists.

I also seriously doubt that the area can cope with the impact of such a development. Being a main road into the town centre, Sharmans Cross Road already struggles to cope with the volumes of traffic at certain times of the day. For something like an hour every weekday morning, the road has stationery traffic past the point where the proposed development would have its access point. On top of that the junction of Sharmans Cross Road/ Streetsbrook Road/ Stonor Park Road does not cope well with the volume of traffic and is difficult to navigate during the very busy periods and there are often accidents here.

If the development was approved this would put a lot of pressure on the already oversubscribed local schools to provide additional school places for children moving into the area. Doctor's surgeries would also be affected. They would have to provide additional services for new residents. These surgeries are already overstretched.

Although I am aware of the need for new and affordable housing, I feel that the proposed development will be detrimental to the feel of the area and will have an impact to both the volume of traffic and the pressure on local services. Most importantly new homes would be built on land that should be used for sport.