Comments Regarding the Balsall Common/Berkswell Proposals


Barratt's Farm Site

There are too many houses proposed for the Barratt's Farm site. Wherever the access points are created, there will be traffic congestion.

If the site is used at all, access must be away from the village centre and residential roads.

Barratt's Lane/Sunnyside Lane provides the only existing access to the proposed site and it would be entirely unsuitable to use this route either during the building phase or for the finished development. As Sunnyside Lane has no traffic calming measures, it is already a rat run between Meeting House Lane and Station Road. As a result, parking on the pavement is widespread and it is often impossible to push prams and buggies without walking in the road. Vehicles race along Sunnyside Lane at dangerously high speeds and frequently drive round the mini-roundabout in the wrong direction when travelling towards Meeting House Lane as this allows them to maintain their speed.


General

The proposals are for too many houses overall and would place unsustainable pressure on roads and services in the village which are already at full stretch. As an example, the minor works currently affecting a few parking bays in front of the shops are causing chaos as a result of deliveries and heavy traffic along Station Road.

The proposals should be refocussed on smaller developments on the periphery of the village ensuring that each links into existing or new roads that will allow access away from village centre and residential roads.

For traffic planning purposes It must be assumed that every dwelling will have at least two cars and that everyone will drive to the shops or to the school if they live more than two minutes' walk away. This is the current situation and there is no reason to believe that this will change.