No
Draft Local Plan Review
Representation ID: 3613
Received: 17/02/2017
Respondent: Elisabeth Eversden
Object to Site 18 as will result in loss of sports facilities when there is a shortage in Solihull, there is an epidemic of obesity and related illnesses which will require encouragement for increased exercise/more active lifestyles, vital that Arden club is retained and that sports use is reintroduced on adjacent land, which should be made available at affordable rent, involves gross overdevelopment out of keeping with area, plans for parking for replacement facility inadequate and will cause street parking, will exacerbate traffic congestion, pollution and risks to pedestrians and cyclists, and pressures on oversubscribed medical and educational services.
I am a member of Solihull Arden Tennis Club & a previous owner/occupier of Winterbourne Road so I know the area well.
1 SPORTING FACILITIES
My biggest concern/objection to this development is the potential loss to the Borough of sporting facilities /land.
We are already the most obese nation in Western Europe (HSE 2014) with the incidence of type 2 diabetes set to reach epidemic figures if nothing is done to stop this rise. According to figures released by Diabetes UK in 2016 there were over 4 million people in the UK with this condition, 90% of this 4 million are overweight /obese. In 2014 Health Survey for England Statistics stated that 58% of adult females & 65% of adult males were obese/overweight.
Research has shown that exercise plays a vital part in weight reduction.
There is already a shortage of sporting facilities in SMB. Sport England figures show that SMB is languishing in the third quartile nationally (for over 16s).
It is vital for the health in the borough that we encourage both adults & children to become more active participating in sports & active leisure activities.
This will not happen if SMB allow existing sports clubs to be demolished & sports ground to be built on.
We need Solihull Arden to remain in situ as a flourishing tennis club & for SMB to reintroduce the use of the adjacent land for active participation sports.
This land should be available at affordable /viable rents so that we can once again see the playing fields being used for active sport.
Why on earth would anyone consider demolishing a tennis club with recently refurbished club house & tennis courts to then replace it approximately 100 yards away with a community centre with facilities similar to those of Tudor Grange ( approximately 1 mile away) ?
2 DEVELOPMENT
Development of this site with 100 houses would constitute gross overdevelopment of the area - totally out of keeping with the existing neighbourhood site.
3 PARKING
Parking plans suggest that the new community centre would be allocated less than 20 parking spaces leading to increased street parking causing chaos to traffic & inconvenience to residents.
4 INCREASED TRAFFIC
100 new homes would give rise to at least 150 more vehicles, all coming out onto Sharmans Cross Road, would add to traffic congestion, increased pollution & safety risks for pedestrians & cyclists.
5 MEDICAL & EDUCATIONAL
Medical & Educational facilities in the area are already oversubscribed. 100 new homes can only make this worse.