Public transport: The road system cannot cope with the volume of traffic at most times of the day. There is limited scope for improving the A34 arterial road system already the most congested roadie Britain outside of London.The A34 Stratford Road both Northbound and Southbound through Hall Green is the worst for congestion. Financial services comparison website GoCompare analysed data from a number of different sources and the A34 came out as the worst.cThe A34 Northbound between Robin Hood Lane and the A4540 is the worst for congestion with motorists experiencing delays of 44 hours per year. The A34 Southbound between the A4540 and Shaftmoor Lane has delays of 42 hours per year.cThe research also revealed Birmingham as the fourth worst city in the UK for congestion with drivers stuck in traffic for an estimated 34 hours per year. The date was collected from a variety of different sources, including INRIX & the Department of Transport. The 38% load in Shirley/Blythe/Dickens Heath will undoubtedly significantly contribute to this problem regardless of what improvements are made to public transport.
The rat-running through Tythe Barn Lane and part of DH village is mainly by people from the large and populous Wythall Parish (Drakes Cross, Hollywood, etc) who work in Solihull, Blythe Valley Business Park, etc. Extra people/traffic will exacerbate congestion through the Dickens Heath Village, on the A34 and surrounding roads especially at peak times. This is not being addressed by SMBC and the new Local Plan does not seem to realise the scale of this problem (or even that it exists).
Impact on the function of high performing Green Belt status of land will be lost which is contrary to Government Policy; there would be coalescence between Dickens Heath, Whitlock End, Majors Green and Bromsgrove District.
There would be added demands on already crowded local rail services and inadequate parking at the stations and Village centres.
Health - The GP practices which have combined and pooled resources are already now difficult to access, appointments on emergency basis only if that. There is a national shortage of GPs. Local Hospital resources have been diminished.

Blythe ward will lose significant amounts of open space, fauna and flora, rather than having it enhanced as per the above statement. Where will the green open spaces be for the local residents if the proposed developments go ahead?
SMBC state in the policy document '' The sites are located within a moderately performing parcel of Green Belt ...the sites are opportunely located in very close proximity to Whitlock's End Station, which has 3 train services per hour to the centre of Birmingham with a short journey time of 20 minute'
In addition, as already stating under question 2 the area is already grid-locked and by building additional house routes to Whitlock's End railway station will be impassable at peak times. However much the council wish to promote cycling and walking to the station, people will not, they will rely on cars to get them to and from the station. Few people will want to 'dodge' busy traffic, at peak times on a bicycle or walk in inclement weather. They will resort to cars and snarl up the roads further. the "Blythe Villages," have taken substantial development under past Plans, notably the Dickens Heath new village, constructed in the last 15 years and 1,000 dwellings at Blythe Valley. It is estimated that this area has taken a further 2,000 dwellings over the past 5 years but the roads, services and infrastructure have not been upgraded to accommodate this growth. Yes, we need more houses but they should be the right type and in the right place. With no new employment areas proposed in the Local Plan and little existing local employment, residents have to drive to their work, which is predominantly located to the east of the Borough, causing commuter chaos in this area along rural roads that were not designed for such volumes of traffic. This is an unsustainable situation now without the additional proposed developments exacerbating this situation. '

Impact on landscape character; within an area of high sensitivity. sites in question provide green 'breathing space' for wildlife, fauna and flora, locals and visitors to the area. As such, the draft concept masterplan proposes to retain historic landscape features, such as hedgerows and standard trees, and the meadows and woodland designated as Local Wildlife Sites' Where will there be left for wildlife to go if the proposed development goes ahead and the roads are full with traffic jams?. After the ring of oaks was cut down-much against public outrage-the council's assurances on maintain greenery and trees are a contradiction to this statement.
The local sports club recently wanted to improve amenities this was reused by SMBC on the grounds of the detrimental effect it would have on the local fauna, flora and wildlife. The council have now 'about-faced' totally ignoring this policy and want to build all over the area. This is gross hypocrisy as the proposed housing will cause far more environmental damage, add to the flooding problems and wildlife will be devastated.
Dickens Heath and Tidbury Green has already taken its 'fair share' of development during the last Local Plan allocations.
There is no case for any 'Sustainable Urban Extension' in the Dickens Heath Parish. Dickens Heath has reached the limits of expansion; any further growth would reduce gaps between the new village and other settlements and create urban sprawl, the prevention of which is one of the purposes of the Green Belt as stated in the NPPF
Impact of existing development
Dickens Heath now has some 1800 dwellings (and increasing) but the original design was for only 700 dwellings. The impact of this level of population on the local road system, which has had no road improvements to compensate for this additional growth, is significant. Outside the village built-up boundary, the roads are primarily narrow country lanes. Heavy traffic and increased local traffic have already churned up and ruined verges on There are junctions with low visibility which were not a problem before the recent housing growth, but are now potentially dangerous. The level of traffic creates noise, and deters walking and cycling on what were once quiet lanes.
The main public transport facility in the Dickens Heath and Tidbury Green areas is the frequent train service between Whitlocks End and Central Birmingham via Shirley. This has been provided since 2010 and has changed travel patterns; previously the hourly service did not attract heavy use. With the low frequency (hourly) and lack of car parking at Wythall, Whitlocks End is heavily used and its car park is overloaded now. The service and car parking at Whitlocks End was expanded primarily to serve Dickens Heath (1 km to the east) was developed but it is now also being used substantially by
commuters who do not live in the immediate vicinity and who travel from further afield. In its own way, it has become a "Park and Ride" destination.
The car park is now operating at full capacity and with no alternative parking is effectively locking out the local users it was originally intended to service. It is programmed for expansion by Centro to meet additional demand from both existing and new residential developments in Dickens Heath and the Blythe Villages area. The Shirley station is also at full capacity. Exiting from Bills Lane onto Haslucks Green Road is now most difficult and at times dangerous and will be exacerbated with Site 26 plan with undoubted consequential gridlocking.