section 5 of SMBC draft local housing plan re its intentions for Balsall Common
Preservation of the Green Belt in the Meriden Gap
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1) The purpose of the Meriden Gap was to prevent the urban sprawl in the West Midlands conurbation between Coventry, Birmingham and Solihull. However it is clearly under threat with these plans. Paragraph 96 states that this plan will enhance the Green Belt but how does it do that. Once land is released from the Green Belt as per paragraph 97 then the benefit of the Meriden Gap will be gone forever.
2) Barratt's Farm is at the narrowest point of the Meriden Gap so instead of this development the council should consider building on site numbers 76 and 212 at Cornets End Lane (section 15 and Paragraph 405).

Preserve Green Space within the area covered by the development
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No mention is made in the plan of the emerging neighbourhood development plan for Berkswell (unlike those of Meriden and Hampton in Arden).This NDP seeks to maintain and preserve the rural character of the area.
If Barratt's Farm is to be developed a tract of open space should run throughout it, providing easy access for existing residents and the potential new householders for recreational amenities and playing fields .Safe pathways and cycle routes should be created away from traffic to the village centre whilst retaining existing public footpaths. The Solihull plan does not appear to achieve these aims.

Protection of Property and Quality of Life of all residents affected by the development
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SMBC must ensure that the least possible disturbance to existing residents is caused during the building of the development.
The location of houses close to the existing residences should be kept to a minimum and where practicable separated by a green open area that could be used for organised and informal pursuits.
Existing roads and lanes around the development are insufficient to cope with additional traffic from the site. Meeting House Lane must not be allowed to become an access point for a first Phase of building before HS2 is completed. Any access would change the character and country feel of a traditional lane and it would change the ambiance forever.
The possible development of the 2 fields behind the Catholic Church should not be allowed as these should be retained as they are and should be available for the community to use. If any development does occur here then access must not be via Oxhayes Close as this is a narrow cul de sac with cars regularly parked on the road near the narrow corner and the view on exit into Meeting House Lane is restricted and with the pinch points this would become a bottleneck.
All traffic must be directed away from the existing residential areas towards the bypass that will provide the main vehicular access.

The Concept Plan for Barratt's Farm
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I note a suggestion that Barratt's Farm would not be developed(in the main) until HS2 is completed(Paragraph 103).I am not confident that the Concept plan addresses this. The construction of HS2 is going to cause major disruption to the residents of Balsall Common and therefore there should be no development until after HS2 is completed and the main access points should be from Station Road and Waste Lane which are the major roads adjoining the site.

General Comments on the proposed development
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What is Solihull Councils justification for selecting Balsall Common for much of their housing needs. Why are houses previously planned for elsewhere (Dickens Heath) now being moved to Balsall Common.
The developments proposed will potentially increase the population of Balsall Common by 50 per cent which will have a very adverse affect due to the following:
Congestion due to much increased traffic.
Car Parking at the Station is already insufficient resulting in a large number of cars parking on adjoining roads. In addition if a new school is built near the station then even more street parking is likely to occur in that area.
There is already insufficient parking at the shops in the village centre most of the time. Therefore with the additional number of vehicles resulting from the large increase in the population of Balsall Common proposed there would be complete chaos at the village centre.