I am writing in regard to the plans for development of the sports grounds at Sharmans Cross Road, to register my concerns and objection.

The plans envisage the loss of the sports pitches, at a time when Solihull is short of pitches for our children to play on (which are important for children's physical wellbeing). The replacement of these sports pitches with such a very high density of housing that would, of neccessity in squeezing so many in, lead to buildings that would be quite out of keeping with the area, making this an unsuitable development.
Bringing so many additional houses and the residents who will live in them, will also bring a significant strain on the infrastructure and services in the area:
Sharmans Cross Road and the surrounding roads (notably Streetsbrook into which it feeds) are already congested in the morning when there are long queues which on Sharmans Cross often stretch from Woodside way up to Streetsbrook and on Streetsbrook back even as far as Woodlea road. An additional hundred homes would exacerbate this problem. Even if the new development is able to feed out onto Winterbourne Rd or Welcombe Grove, the traffic will quickly meet the queues on Blossomfield Road. Aside from the inconvenience these additional congestion problems will bring, both in these roads and the Solihull road arteries they feed into, such congestion and increased traffic volume brings pollution and road safety issues. Traffic from the development passing down Sharmans Cross away from Streetsbrook would increase volumes of traffic near Sharmans Cross School and this increases the danger to the young people being educated there when travelling to and from the school.
The schools around the area are already oversubscribed and the new houses will increase the pressure on these schools, and the GP surgeries in the area are similarly very busy. Significant new infrastructure would be needed for more development in the area.
The Sharmans Cross Area is important for wildlife and environment. The sports pitches are part of an area of open space with mature trees and complement the space behind the houses on the other side of the road and the parkland around Woodside Way and creates a large habitat for a very wide variety of small mammals and birds as well as different species of trees. The development of the land for housing would both reduce the amount of green space available to the local community (which is important for people's mental wellbeing as well as their physical wellbeing) and reduce air quality, as well as impact on the wildlife.

I urge you to reconsider this proposal, and instead retain this land for the valuable purpose of sport in Solihull for which it is intended.