Object

Draft Local Plan - Supplementary Consultation

Representation ID: 7679

Received: 12/03/2019

Respondent: Professor David Walton

Representation Summary:

Scale/distribution of growth not equitable, settlement being concreted over and green space not being protected.
Massive infilling of green space around Balsall Common will shrink green belt in this part of the Meriden Gap to little more than a few fields. Loss of green belt despite pledges from Mayor to protect.
No Ecological Assessments made available to public, and hard to know why some sites in Balsall Common score so poorly for sustainability and other key criteria.
Area is rich in wildlife/birds/insects/bats/amphibians and even deer. Previous building in the vicinity a sign that village has already made a positive contribution.

Full text:

The Plan demands a huge 45% increase in size of Balsall Common (1750 habitations on top of 3900), which will have a disproportionate and damaging effect. The green belt will be severely reduced, while the quality of life, well-being and lifestyle of existing residents will be greatly changed. It is not clear that sufficient and timely resources will be in place for the benefit of such an influx of population (who will need extra amenities for health, education, transport, jobs, shops, living-space etc etc). I once lived in a place massively-expanded under a Plan, and things did not work out as expected. Sustainability, accessibility, effect on the environment are difficult to quantify, but what effectively the concreting-over of an already-full village pressurise the infrastructure to the extreme.
I have elaborated these points in the attached file, which also covers my answers variously to Questions 4 to 10