Representations re Solihull Local Plan Review - Proposed Housing Allocation to the West of Dickens Heath
I refer to the current consultation process in respect of the Solihull Local Plan Review and, in particular, the potential impact of the proposed housing allocation to the West of Dickens Heath.
The proposed housing allocation gives rise to a number of key concerns:
1. Impact on the Green Belt
The proposed housing allocation would erode the Green Belt between Dickens Heath, Major's Green and Trueman's Heath. This risks the semi-rural character of Dickens Heath being detrimentally impacted and represents a major step towards the village being subsumed within the Birmingham urban conurbation. The housing allocation would also cause the loss of a number of local sports facilities and a popular African-inspired garden centre.
2. Pressure on existing amenities
I have lived in Dickens Heath since September 2000 and I have personally witnessed the increasing pressures placed on local amenities, most notably on the Jacey GP practice and the inadequate parking in the village centre (exacerbated by the loss of a substantial number of parking spaces to new residential dwellings in the past 18 months). Dickens Heath simply does not have the amenities and infrastructure to bear the proposed village expansion.
3. Traffic Management
Another existing issue which will be exacerbated by the proposed housing allocation is the traffic congestion during peak commuting hours between the village school and running along Tythe Barn Lane and Dickens Heath Road, until the roundabout in front of Miller & Carter. The absence of highway and traffic management improvements has led to a high degree of congestion and the council's failure to use on-road parking restrictions along Tythe Barn Lane (either side of the existing speed control measures) to prevent on-road parking by residents has caused further congestion. The increased flow of commuter traffic to central Solihull and to the M42 will worsen the existing congestion.
My view is that there are more appropriate areas for housing allocation within the Borough which have a reduced impact on the Green Belt, place less pressure on existing, stretched amenities and have a reduced impact on the character of the existing residential area.