Dear Sirs

Solihull Local Plan Review - Draft Local Plan Consultation re Hampton Road Knowle and Station/Warwick Road Knowle

I would like to object most strongly to the proposed developments for Knowle and feel that none of them should be supported. I feel you have failed to inform the residents of Knowle of the proposed developments. In my own area I suggest that you sent your letter dated 8 December 2016 to only about a dozen homes immediately adjoining the site. Yet the addition of so many new homes in Knowle will wreck the semi rural character of the Village and affect all of Knowle residents. It is likely that nearly all the occupiers of these homes would be commuting by cars (possibly 2 per household) to their places of work some miles away as there are very few employment opportunities in the area.

Green Belt I believe these sites are in the Green Belt. If Solihull MBC is happy to sacrifice existing green belt and prefers concentrated development rather than dispersed in-fill development, then surely it would be sense to build an entirely new Village, similar to the development of Dickens Heath with schools, library etc?

Garden Village With the Governments recent initiative for these, Solihull MBC would be far better putting all their proposed concentrated development for a new village, homes 6000+, with all new infrastructure and facilities. Somewhere between Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden could be a location with good Road/Rail access to the Cities of both Birmingham and Coventry and other major towns of Leamington Spa and Stratford-upon-Avon and the Midlands Motorway Network. There seem many options when looking at a map of the area. Could Cheswick Green be increased to form a lovely Garden Village?

Hampton Road Sites None of this development should happen as the land is Green Belt and the infrastructure is unsuitable for such developments. This area should have been treated as 3 distinct sites and each one should be individually evaluated as all are in the existing Green Belt and access for each will be separate off Hampton Road. These are to the East, the existing football club/cricket club and Grimshaw wood; to the West, the former nursery and farm land; to the West the area around the fishermans car park and canal proposed as a new site for the football club.
If the football club wish to move, their existing site could be considered for development taking into account the usual planning criteria. However, the additional traffic caused by the proposed housing will make Hampton Road a bottleneck. Other infrastructure such as schools and doctors are already stretched and I understand all Knowle Schools are oversubscribed. If the proposed new site for the football club is considered it should be noted that this would be commercial development in the Green Belt. There are many other under used good sports facilities including football clubs within a 2 mile radius of Knowle.
The former Thackers Nursery site and agricultural land to the West of Hampton Road is the natural boundary to the Green belt and should remain so. The proposal for so many houses would make the traffic additions to Hampton Road impossible/impassable and with worse bottlenecks. The suggestion of cycling as a major means of transport is ridiculous - on Warwick Road where there are cycle lanes, I see about 1 cyclist a week using them. The UK weather is not conducive to cycling apart for as a recreation. This site is too far from the Village to be walkable for most people and there is not currently a bus service on Hampton Road. Hence we would need further parking facilities in Knowle or these new residents would 'shop' in other areas.

Arden relocation and Large Housing development This should not happen. Whilst a new purpose built school would be nice, this is again development in the Green Belt. Perhaps the school should consider incremental rebuilding within the existing site, as their 6th form centre.
The proposed housing here is vast and in the Green Belt. It should not happen. The increased traffic on Warwick Road and Station Road would create bottle necks and wreck the beautiful heart we have in Knowle. Clearly the infrastructure could not cope with such a development.

I have spoken to many friends in Knowle and I know my feelings above are in line with the majority of Knowle residents. However, many had no idea about these plans.

Yours sincerely