No

Draft Local Plan Review

Representation ID: 617

Received: 01/02/2017

Respondent: Graham Jones

Representation Summary:

Policy P7
Housing developers should not be allowed to construct roads of inadequate width and pavements of inadequate widths.

Policy P8A
It is not acceptable that the Knowle to UK Central corridor is not included in the rapid transit plans.

Full text:

Policy P7
Housing developers should not be allowed to construct roads of inadequate width and pavements of inadequate widths.
Some estate roads are only just wide enough for a removal lorry, for example. This is the total road width so two way traffic is not a possibility. Similarly, if a health visitor is making a visit to one house another health visitor cannot easily access an adjacent house. Furthermore, fire services will only rescue people trapped on an upper floor if two fire engines are present, and the width of some roads do not allow such access. This is totally unacceptable planning.
Pavements should be continuous and also be wide enough for a double buggy. It is not acceptable to build a pavement just wide enough for the slimmest of single buggies. It should not matter whether or not the road is to be adopted by the Council. Furthermore, on some estates pavements have only been provided on one side of the street, alternating with house frontages, which is dangerous for pedestrians and restricts the sense of community.

Policy P8A
It is not acceptable that the Knowle to UK Central corridor is not included in the rapid transit plans. The Plan assumption must be that people will use the M42, which is clearly flawed both in terms of the M42 capacity and in terms of environmental degradation. The skill mix in the Knowle and Dorridge area means that UK Central will be a vital source of local jobs. A Knowle to UK Central rapid transit corridor must therefore be included in the Plan. This requirement is only magnified by the proposal to increase the population of Knowle by 25% through new housing.