Challenge H

I recognise the need for more housing but none of this need can be sensibly met unless the approach to public transport around Solihull is bolder.

For example, Challenge H currently identifies the poor north-south public transport links, but why has this need been singled out when there is a massive need in the Knowle/Dorridge area? The challenge is therefore Solihull wide.

The draft Plan is proposing a further 1000 homes plus windfall homes in Knowle, and yet the plan does not include any specific proposals to address the lack of public transport. For context, the number of people using public transport, walking or cycling to work from Knowle is 15%. This is very low and mainly reflects the poor level of public transport in the area. The Plan assumes that people travelling from Knowle to the NEC/business park area and the new UK Central will be by car on the M42.

From 2000 until now, approximately 1000 new homes have been added in the Knowle area, but since that time bus service connectivity and frequency have reduced. Train services from Dorridge have not improved since 2000 with a number of trains no longer stopping at Dorridge station. These changes have meant that since 2000 most new households have had to travel by car, as noted above, whilst no improvements have been made to the road network in the area. The effect of these policies over many years is that traffic congestion is now the key issue in Knowle and Dorridge.

Yet, the Council is now proposing an additional 1000 homes for Knowle, but these developments must be supported by the necessary infrastructure. Appendix 1 identifies proposed infrastructure improvements very local to the new developments, whereas the issue is that the new householders will find it very difficult to get beyond their immediate locality to work, be it in Solihull, NEC, UK Central or anywhere else. This is because of the poor public transport and the restricted road infrastructure outside the immediate Knowle area. The scope of Appendix 1 is completely inadequate and should be expanded to show the wider infrastructure needs across Solihull.

To address the above issues, the Plan should include an ambitious public transport scheme, such as a new tram system, to provide high speed connections between Solihull, Knowle/Dorridge and the NEC/UK Central. Such a scheme will take some time to put in place, and therefore as an immediate and short-term solution a Park and Ride scheme must be implemented. As easy win would be to put a Park and Ride terminus adjacent to the proposed new M42 service station, with another terminus, for example, adjacent to the Windley Garden Centre on the Warwick Road.

As regards new roads/by-passes, the draft plan states that "The 2013 SLP concluded that the need to retain safeguarding of the lines was no longer justified. In relation to Hockley Heath and Knowle, there is nothing to suggest that this conclusion needs to be revisited." (Para 266). This is not correct. The statement in the 2013 SLP was made prior to the adoption of the proposed additional 1000 homes in Knowle and in the context of improvements to public transport services proposed at the time. Since that time, public transport services have in fact deteriorated and in the new draft plan the proposed public transport improvements are very limited and vague. Whilst I would much prefer a sound public transport solution as discussed above, past performance suggests that it is unlikely that public transport improvements will be delivered and therefore the Knowle by-pass cannot be dismissed until an ambitious public transport scheme (such as proposed above) has been approved and delivered.

Challenge J

Air quality is a massive challenge for Knowle, Dorridge and Bentley Heath because of the fumes from the M42 and because of the emissions due to the high degree of congestion on local roads. This issue could be part of Challenge J, but it is so important I suggest it should be a separate challenge.