18 Solihull - Sharmans Cross Road

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18RE SHARMANS CROSS PROPOSED DEVELOPMENT.

Dear Sir/Madam,

I am writing concerning the above proposed development for which I would like to outline some of my objections. I hope that you will take them into consideration when making your decision regarding the irreversible conversion of the land previously dedicated to sports but not, it seems, supported by council for this purpose. I understand that the current developers who have bought the land have not been supportive towards promoting its use for sports for obvious reasons.

Firstly - the traffic problem. It is a very real problem. There is already a very significant amount of traffic in the immediate area. Morning and evening traffic is already deadlocked around the island at the Sharmans Cross Pub. Clearly these proposals will further exacerbate the problem. Access from Sharmans Cross Road onto Streetsbrook Road is also problematic despite two outlets. The traffic which accumulates around the school, next door to the proposal, will mean that additional weight of the extra traffic entering and exiting the proposed access site will create danger, stress and frustration for the local community and the surrounds. Increased traffic will also provide greater risks to pedestrians. and the safety of infants attending the local school (which will also demand further development and stretch resources as a consequence) is of a particular concern. Pollution is a very concerning factor.

Secondly, there still exists the need for sports facilities, not just tennis, which is also part of a government program. The area is not at all well served with sports grounds and this development could easily and at minimal cost, be reinstated as a sporting facility to benefit all Solihull inhabitants.

Thirdly - social, moral, spiritual and environmental welfare. Building on the proposed scale will have a detrimental effect on the local wildlife - there will be inevitable loss of its natural habitat and therefore threat to its existence. The general environmental ambience of the area will be lost under concrete and this is a concern to those of us who feel that our morale and spiritual welfare is enhanced by the open space. Sharmans Cross Road is susceptible to flooding therefore covering the natural ground with concrete and Tarmac will further exacerbate the situation. The Lucas Sports Ground and the fields around Sharmans Cross senior school have already been built on and although Prospect Park survives, the field next to the Arden Club feels more secure, private and should indeed be renovated for the purpose in which it is already designated i.e. Sports. This is a much needed facility in the area. I use the land as it exists. I don't see why recreation should be less important than housing allocation as a stressed society is not a healthy one. Houses are now being built on the surrounding green belt area, therefore turning inwards and over-crowding the town is of no value to Solihull residents.

As a conclusion, all the amenities in the area are totally stretched already. The Health Care in the area is stretched with doctors appointments having waiting times of up to six weeks. Solihull Hospital is already under funding cuts and schools in the area are oversubscribed and students are bussed in as well as parents taking to the roads to bring them in . My mother, with whom I live, currently waits for three months for a hospital appointment , often with appointments being postponed or delayed, however, getting the initial GP appointment for referral in this area has already taken weeks.

I do hope that you will take into account the views of myself and the vast number of local residents who agree with these views.
Please reject the current planning permission request.

Many thanks for your consideration. I look forward to your reply.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18

I am writing to object to the proposed development for 100 houses on the Rugby ground off Sharmans Cross Road.
My objections are:-
Increased traffic and safety issues:-
100 houses would result in many more cars - given most households in Solihull have one or two cars - 100 plus cars. Sharmans Cross Road is already very congested at peak times with problems caused by the volume of traffic by the Junior School; cars parking on Sharmans Cross Road to drop/pick up children, the Lollypop person and children crossing, cars coming out of side roads and turning round after dropping/picking up.
More cars would be a considerable safety issue for car drivers and children.
If you travel towards Solihull then the junction of Sharmans Cross Road/Streetsbrook Road is also congested and dangerous.
More cars would cause more tailbacks and coming out of the proposed development would be very difficult especially as it is situated where cars are backed up to at peak time.
Local Shops - Prospect Lane Shops does not have adequate parking at times even if you use the pub Carpark - more local people would cause parking issues.
Local amenities can't take the increase:-
Schools - does Sharmans Cross Junior School have the capacity to take more children (adding to more traffic as children don't seem to walk). And what of other local schools?
Medical Centres - can they handle the increase.?
Waste Collection: can they handle it?
Arden Club Parking: if the club looses a lot of parking spaces as proposed this will cause more on street parking in roads already busy. Sometimes cars are parked on the side roads on both sides and 'stick out' that emergency vehicles would find it hard to get through. There would be more problems like this.
Transportation: local buses. If the residents from the proposed development don't use their car and take public transport, can the local buses cope? The buses are not that frequent along Sharman's Cross Road in either direction and there is not a covered bus shelter.
Loss of sporting facilities: we need to exercise for health and wellbeing.
Nature and green spaces: are good for us and we need our bats and badgers and trees
If you need clarification on any of my comments please contact me

I am writing in regard to the plans for development of the sports grounds at Sharmans Cross Road, to register my concerns and objection.

The plans envisage the loss of the sports pitches, at a time when Solihull is short of pitches for our children to play on (which are important for children's physical wellbeing). The replacement of these sports pitches with such a very high density of housing that would, of neccessity in squeezing so many in, lead to buildings that would be quite out of keeping with the area, making this an unsuitable development.
Bringing so many additional houses and the residents who will live in them, will also bring a significant strain on the infrastructure and services in the area:
Sharmans Cross Road and the surrounding roads (notably Streetsbrook into which it feeds) are already congested in the morning when there are long queues which on Sharmans Cross often stretch from Woodside way up to Streetsbrook and on Streetsbrook back even as far as Woodlea road. An additional hundred homes would exacerbate this problem. Even if the new development is able to feed out onto Winterbourne Rd or Welcombe Grove, the traffic will quickly meet the queues on Blossomfield Road. Aside from the inconvenience these additional congestion problems will bring, both in these roads and the Solihull road arteries they feed into, such congestion and increased traffic volume brings pollution and road safety issues. Traffic from the development passing down Sharmans Cross away from Streetsbrook would increase volumes of traffic near Sharmans Cross School and this increases the danger to the young people being educated there when travelling to and from the school.
The schools around the area are already oversubscribed and the new houses will increase the pressure on these schools, and the GP surgeries in the area are similarly very busy. Significant new infrastructure would be needed for more development in the area.
The Sharmans Cross Area is important for wildlife and environment. The sports pitches are part of an area of open space with mature trees and complement the space behind the houses on the other side of the road and the parkland around Woodside Way and creates a large habitat for a very wide variety of small mammals and birds as well as different species of trees. The development of the land for housing would both reduce the amount of green space available to the local community (which is important for people's mental wellbeing as well as their physical wellbeing) and reduce air quality, as well as impact on the wildlife.

I urge you to reconsider this proposal, and instead retain this land for the valuable purpose of sport in Solihull for which it is intended.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18

I live at Dorchester Road, Solihull and I write to object to the proposed new housing development on Sherman's Cross Road.
I am very shocked that this is even being proposed. I think the area already suffers with too much traffic and this would add to it immensely - in the proposal there aren't enough spaces for the new residents and then also their guests which has to be accounted for. I worry that ground that was always intended for sports and recreational use is being used to build houses which is absolutely ridiculous. There isn't a call for the new development under sustainability as it is further away than the National Planning Policy Framework. The schools and medical facilities in the area are already over subscribed and this new development would have a detrimental affect on these facilities for existing users and the new residents. I think the new development should also be rejected under the grounds of suitability as it will be an over development of the land and the design and appearance also is not in keeping with the area.

I truly hope our voices will be listened to and am happy to be contacted for further information.

Please reject this proposal!!!

I want to object to the Proposed Housing Allocation 18 as I feel it is not a good option at all under these grounds

- there will be an increase is traffic and therefore pollution in the area and safety of other road users, pedestrians and cyclists will be put at risk
- the risk of flooding due to the overdevelopment of the land
- the size of the development is too big, it is not suitable for the area
- local schools will be put under more pressure from over subscription
- medical facilities are also oversubscribed and will have to stretch even further causing the service provided to be worse
- parking lost at the Arden Club will increase congestion and put users safety at risk
- it's not sustainable as the development is further away from amenities

I expect my objection to be heard and all the other objects too. I feel very strongly against the Proposed Housing Allocation 18 at Sherman's Cross Road.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18
I am writing to object to the proposed application as above for the following reasons:
1, Over crowding of houses, 100 house on that site will destroy the character of the neighbourhood as the houses will have to be build close together and small. If affordable housing is to be provided, then you have the problem of more the two stories in height, leading to loss of light, ,loss of privacy and overshadowing.
2 School and Medical centres. These are all oversubscribed already and this development will just put more pressure on them.
3 flooding. Sharmans Cross road is known for its flooding in heavy rain, the development will worsen this problem.
4 To go with point no 3 increase in traffic and associated pollution, the road is already a bad road especially as there is a school, so it will have a serious effect on highway safety, danger to pedestrians, Children, cyclists and all round parking for the amentities.
5 Permanent loss of sporting facilities. We should be getting our children and ourselves more active and I know it is one of the councils biggest campaigns, so why are you taking away areas that can be used for sports events to build houses that will just cause more problems.
6 Environmental: you will have to cut down trees which have tree preservation orders, which in turn will destroy the wildlife. We have badgers and bats.
7 Parking at Solihull Arden Club, loss of parking at the club would have a massive in packed. If people can't park they will not come and you have people that run there own business from the club. Like running there own class. So this will take from local business, which you should be trying to help.
8 One previous application for this site has been refused and another withdrawn for some of the reasons above.
As a result, the proposed development should be refused.

Re: Objection to LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18
With reference to the LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18, I would like to state my objections to the proposed scheme, as follows:

1. Suitability: The proposed development of 100 houses is a density of 5 times that of surrounding roads and therefore totally unsuitable and out of character for the area.
It is also more homes than was proposed by the same developer 6 years ago, a scheme rejected by the council. Therefore a precedent for not approving the new proposal.
To achieve the density of properties, it would be inevitable the homes would be multiple stories which again is out of character with the area.

2. Traffic Congestion: The proposed 100 homes would lead to increased traffic and congestion on what are already very busy surrounding roads. Sharmans Cross Road and Streetsbrook Road already suffer sever congestion during peak periods and this would only increase should the proposal go ahead.
The increased traffic would pose a danger to pedestrians and cyclists.
3. Parking: The high density of housing and associated cars would lead to parking issues. If there are there insufficient parking spaces in the proposal, the extra cars would be parking on Sharmans Cross Road, causing a hazard and danger to road users and pedestrians.
The proposal means the Solihull Arden Tennis Club could lose 75 parking spaces which would also increase congestion and parking problems.

4. Environment: The area is a well-established green space with many mature trees and areas of wildlife, including bats and badgers. I regularly see bats flying around my garden. Solihull is proud of its green spaces and this should be maintained.

5. Schools and Medical Facilities: this proposal would have an impact on local schools which are already over sub-scribed and medical services. Solihull Hospital no longer has a full A&E department, these extra houses would put even more pressure on local services.
In conclusion, I believe the proposed development is wrong for this site.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation - 18

I strongly OBJECT to the proposals to build 100 properties on the Rugby Club Grounds in Sharmans Cross Road.

This is overdevelopment will take away much needed sports and recreational facilities, destroy natural habitats and be detrimental to all of the residents in the surrounding areas.

The additional traffic will be immense and cause mayhem to an already out of hand traffic problem particularly at Peak Periods.
As a regular user of Streetsbrook Road and Sharmans Cross Road I can assure you that the junction between the two roads is already GRIDLOCKED for at least three hours a day. Any additional traffic will make a serious situation worse and create additional safety problems.

Overburdened Local amenities will struggle to cope with an influx of such a large number of families

Re: LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation - 18

Please register my Objection to the proposals to build 100 properties on the Rugby Club Grounds in Sharmans Cross Road.

The scale and density of this development is far too large and will create huge problems for Traffic, Parking, Schools and GP's

It will also be a shame to lose yet another sporting facility.

I am a member of Solihull Arden Tennis Club & a previous owner/occupier of Winterbourne Road so I know the area well.


1 SPORTING FACILITIES

My biggest concern/objection to this development is the potential loss to the Borough of sporting facilities /land.

We are already the most obese nation in Western Europe (HSE 2014) with the incidence of type 2 diabetes set to reach epidemic figures if nothing is done to stop this rise. According to figures released by Diabetes UK in 2016 there were over 4 million people in the UK with this condition, 90% of this 4 million are overweight /obese. In 2014 Health Survey for England Statistics stated that 58% of adult females & 65% of adult males were obese/overweight.

Research has shown that exercise plays a vital part in weight reduction.

There is already a shortage of sporting facilities in SMB. Sport England figures show that SMB is languishing in the third quartile nationally (for over 16s).

It is vital for the health in the borough that we encourage both adults & children to become more active participating in sports & active leisure activities.
This will not happen if SMB allow existing sports clubs to be demolished & sports ground to be built on.

We need Solihull Arden to remain in situ as a flourishing tennis club & for SMB to reintroduce the use of the adjacent land for active participation sports.
This land should be available at affordable /viable rents so that we can once again see the playing fields being used for active sport.

Why on earth would anyone consider demolishing a tennis club with recently refurbished club house & tennis courts to then replace it approximately 100 yards away with a community centre with facilities similar to those of Tudor Grange ( approximately 1 mile away) ?


2 DEVELOPMENT

Development of this site with 100 houses would constitute gross overdevelopment of the area - totally out of keeping with the existing neighbourhood site.


3 PARKING

Parking plans suggest that the new community centre would be allocated less than 20 parking spaces leading to increased street parking causing chaos to traffic & inconvenience to residents.


4 INCREASED TRAFFIC

100 new homes would give rise to at least 150 more vehicles, all coming out onto Sharmans Cross Road, would add to traffic congestion, increased pollution & safety risks for pedestrians & cyclists.


5 MEDICAL & EDUCATIONAL

Medical & Educational facilities in the area are already oversubscribed. 100 new homes can only make this worse.

Objection against housing development on Sharmans Cross Road
I am highly disappointed to learn of the proposed development of 100 houses on Sharmans Cross Road. As a resident of Sharmans Cross road, I am very concerned of the impact that such a development will have on the area. There is already a significant burden on the local area, in regards to school availability, access to GP services and healthcare which we experience first hand already. Another issue is the potential increase in traffic volume, Sharmans Cross road is already a very busy road, all you need to do is stand on here at multiple times of day and see the impact of the traffic especially at peak hours and the parking nightmare during school pick up and drop off. I hate to imagine what it will be like when there are another 100 properties with the potential of an additional 100-300 cars and the impact this will have on the road espeacially from a safety aspect.

Solihull is known for its character, something that we are already losing in the in the town centre. I appreciate the need of new developments such as the doubling of touchwood but I do not agree with destroying this history and heritage of the town. The same will happen with the new development as I highly doubt that any property developer will build properties that are in character with the rest of the neighbourhood as it would not be very cost efficient.

I can confirm that all 3 adult members of the adult household are against this development and hopefully the planning department at SMBC will agree that building over our valuable green land and sporting facilities will only be detrimental to our borough and the people that already live here.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18

I am objecting to the above planning application on the following grounds

1. To build 100 houses on this piece of land would result in no end of problems - primarily caused by the sheer over density. There would be minimal land on which to park the numerous vehicles which such development would bring. This shortage of parking would be exacerbated and can only worsen if Solihull Arden Club were to lose car parking spaces. This would inevitably bring more chaos on Sharmans Cross Road, possibly causing overflowing cars to be parked on Sharmans Cross or indeed the side roads off causing more congestion and hazards to all users of the roads in the area. This area is always over burdened at peak times.

2. Sharmans Cross School is already having to make class sizes bigger because of the rise in the number of children and this presumably takes no account of future children which would need to be schooled from the new housing. Doubtless the same strain would apply to local medical centres which are already struggling. Local services would inevitably be diminished.

3. The development would be high density housing which is utterly out of character with the surrounding area. Constructing so many properties in such a small area will do nothing to alleviate the localised flooding of Sharmans Cross Road. Concreting over land in such a manner has to have a detrimental effect on local drainage, as we know from the concreting of our drives! Where will all the drainage be channelled? It will destroy the wildlife which has been preserved in the surrounding protected woodland, the inhabitants of which have enjoyed the benefit of the open land for foraging etc.

4. I understand that the land has been carefully protected over the years for use of recreation/sporting activities. Land earmarked for sporting facilities should be protected and used for such purposes - not high density housing. We owe this to our children and grandchildren.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18

"Urbs in Rure"


The council may have to rethink it's motto if it is prepared to allow building on Solihulls sports facilities, green spaces and rural land

I am a member of Arden Tennis club and a local resident

I also play football for two local football teams, both teams play on artificial pitches and we are surrounded by a metal fence

The council have a stated objective not to build on existing pitches and the inclusion of the Sharmans Cross in the LDP site is in total conflict with that stated position

It is vital that communities have retained use of these pitches and green spaces and we cannot allow Solihull to become effectively an inner city suburb

The site at Sharmans cross road has a covenant that only allows sport to take place on the land and in conjunction with the objective of not building on pitches simply cannot be included as suitable for housing development

LDP proposed Housing Allocation 18

I strongly object to the planning of 100 houses on the rugby ground on Sharmans cross Rd.
I object on these issues
Use of land - should be for sporting/recreation purpose. SMBC has formally minuted in 2013 its policy regards the use of the land for sport and that the freehold would not be sold.

Increase in traffic
Pollution
Danger to pedestrians-especially school children attending Sharmans cross Jnr, who also are regular users of Arden club.
Scription of local amenities i.e. Infant and junior schooling and the local shopping parade on Prospect Lane(which is always busy with limited parking.
Permanent loss of sports facilities - this is one of five sports grounds at risk in LDP and should be a priorit y to keep or even improve for our younger generation.
Unacceptable OVER DEVELOPMENT

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18

I feel I must raise my concerns over the proposed development on the old grounds of what was Solihull Rugby club. There are main reasons that I object to the proposed development and they are as follows:

* Increased traffic volumes - the amount of traffic around Solihull is now beyond belief, what with commuters & school runs etc - it can actually be quicker to walk into Solihull but unfortunately people don't.
* The loss of more recreational space - this space would have been an ideal opportunity for a community / sports area.
* Amount of proposed housing - why when proposals for less homes was previously rejected has the number of proposed homes now increased to a hundred the strain on local healthcare & amenities is already great.
* Parking Increases & Potential Safety Risks - on Sharmans Cross road is already causing congestion so a massive increase in the number of vehicles that this development will obviously lead to will only increase congestion. All this will lead to potential safety issues for pedestrians & school children.

There are other concerns that I could raise but ultimately I have genuine concerns over this development & its impact on the neighbourhood.

"LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18"
I live on Sharmans Cross Road and I understand there is a plan to build another 100 houses next to the tennis club on this road. Don't do this.

These 100 houses will completely spoil the character of our local area. 100 houses is 5 times the density of what is on our road and the surrounding roads such as Winterbourne Road at the back of the tennis club. I can only class this as an OVER DEVELOPMENT which is completely unacceptable. It is out of character in its appearance and also out of scale when compared to existing development in our neighbourhood. The new houses will most likely be more than two stories high leading to loss of light and overshadowing and also loss of privacy.

Where are all the cars currently parking in the Arden club meant to park? The club regularly has hundreds of people using the club on a daily basis and the current car park is overflowing already. If the parking is reduced it will be chaotic in the surrounding roads. Talking of which Sharmans Cross school has a hundreds of cars parking on Sharmans Cross road twice a day which is just one big traffic jam. Adding another 100 homes each with an average of 2 cars each will just make the vicinity even more chaotic. You cannot even get out of Sharmans cross road in the mornings without having to wait 20 minutes at the junction of Streetsbrook road. I don't know how anyone will ever get out of the Arden club with all the extra development?

Have you considered how Sharmans Cross road is going to cope during heavy rain? Currently the road already gets flooded when we have heavy rain, and adding more houses will only worsen this problem.

I strongly urge you to resist this futile development plan. It's a complete non-starter and should be rejected with no grounds for appeal.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18 - Sharmans Cross Development Plans

I am aware of a development plan for the Sharmans Cross rugby fields and tennis club and I would like to note my objections for the following reasons:

1. The rugby fields have been an important sporting facility to the local area for many years and I would wish to see that sports can continue to be played on these fields in the future. I believe many youth sports teams would like to play on these fields but are unable to afford the costs that have charged.

2. I am very concerned about the increased levels of traffic that would be joining Sharmans Cross Road and potentially other roads in the area, that such a development would bring. These roads are already at times congested, and such a development would only bring further congestion and pollution to this area.

3. Such a development would put additional pressure on local services such as doctors surgeries where there are already long waiting times for appointments.

4. I believe that the type of housing that is being proposed and in particular the density of this housing is not in keeping with the local area, and also may require more than two story buildings which would lead to privacy issues and loss of light for local residents.

4. I would be extremely concerned about any removal of natural and mature woodland around the site as this has been an important habitat for wildlife.

I trust that you will consider my objections in any decision making process that will take place on this development.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18

I believe the proposal to develop 100 dwellings on the former rugby ground to be wholly unacceptable with 3 main objections.

1) Too high a density - The land even including the current Solihull Arden club is not large enough to accommodate 100 properties which will inevitably be built to a very high density and will therefore lead to many other problems. Where will 100+ cars go especially when the Arden club parking will still need to be provided for. This will lead to increased parking on surrounding rounds especially Sharmans Cross which already suffers from parking issues. The high density build will also contribute to the flooding risk which as a local resident I can confirm is a real problem during periods of heavy rain which we are increasingly getting year after year. When I purchased my property on Winterbourne rd the searches indicated that the area is a flood risk, having a sports field where rain can soak away is much better than 99% hard surfaces where the water will run off and flood elsewhere!
2) Increased traffic - 100 dwellings will bring a large number of extra vehicles which will have a serious effect on the safety on the road safety and levels of pollution in the local area. Sharmans cross is already a dangerous road with a difficult junction with Streetsbrook that is very often gridlocked. The levels of pollution are also already very high in the local area, I would challenge anyone from Solihull council to come and walk with me along Sharmans cross road and tell me that they cannot smell and taste the pollution in the air, if you bring another 100+ diesel cars to the area it is going to make the pollution even worse. Road safety will also be significantly affected especially as the parking problems on Sharmans cross road will be worsened.
3) Land is for Sports use - We already have very few sports pitches in Solihull. We should be encouraging people to take part in sporting activities rather than taking away facilities. Once gone they will not be replaced. I believe the land was dedicated to sports use and should remain so.

I base my opinions and objections as someone whose property will not be directly affected by the proposed development, my objection is solely based on the effect to the local area and residents as a whole.

Sharmans Cross Housing Development - LDP / Proposed Housing allocation 18

I am writing to express my total opposition to the proposal to build 100 houses on the site of the former rugby ground on Sharmans Cross Road. The grounds for my objection are as follows: -

1. The excessive density of housing that such a development would create, totally out of character with surrounding housing development.
2. The likelihood that such an intensive development will be detrimental to existing housing in respect of privacy, noise and increased traffic flows.
3. A development of this size will inevitability significantly increase congestion on Sharmans Cross Rd, which already experiences gridlock in the rush hour. This in turn will add to the existing congestion on Streetsbrook Rd at peak times. This congestion has already resulted in Dorchester Rd becoming a high speed rat-run at these times.
4. The increased traffic flows moving in/out of the new site will be a very real danger to pedestrians, particular children and parents going to/from Sharman's Cross Junior School.
5. A development of this scale will inevitably require significant parking space and / or on street parking. Parking is already chaotic at peak times and when school and sporting events are taking place.
6. The development will impact on other existing infrastructure - schools, medical centres, which are already over-subscribed.
7. The area suffers from an existing flooding problem. A substantial increase in hard areas will inevitably worsen this problem and its attendant drainage and sewage problems.
8. I would add that any attempt to access this proposed site from Winterbourne Road would have similarly detrimental effects and produce traffic chaos in Winterbourne, Beaminster and Dorchester roads, as well as having a huge detrimental environmental impact on these roads and their residents.
In conclusion, I would add that I fully understand the LDP's requirement to meet Central Government's housing targets. I would, therefore, have no objection to a more modest development of say 20-30 houses, which would avoid many of the detrimental impacts of the existing proposal.

RE: LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18

This email is to set out the main reasons for my objection to and why, Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council (SMBC) should reject planning permission being granted for the cited application to redevelop of the grounds off Sharmans Cross Road used by the Arden Club and the former ground of Birmingham and Solihull RUFC. Points have been made with reference to your document titled Reviewing the Plan for Solihull's Future; Solihull Local Plan Review; Draft Local Plan (Local Plan). It is right that SMBC follows the principles in The Plan and does not sympathetically interpret them in order to succumb to the significant Government pressure to build new homes and that the developer whose clear driving force is one of commercial gain. SMBC should also consider all the relevant facts of the previous declined application for 87 dwellings.
Local Plan P20 - This ground has been designated as a sports area and it should be retained for that purpose for at least the remaining term of the lease, 74 years I believe. Rather than redevelop the area pressure should be placed on the leaseholders to make it available to local sports groups for its intended use at an affordable price, with a view to increasing young peoples participation in sport. The Cerda Planning Limited proposal (job no 16/109) makes the point that the pitches have been unused for six years. I suggest this is not because no one wants to use them but rather, as reported, that approaches to the leaseholder by local clubs to use the field for football have not been responded to or artificially high rents were demanded. It is reported that the reason for the rugby club moving is due to the high rent demanded. A healthy community needs sports grounds; without them social issues can develop especially on estates.
As far as I am aware there are currently insufficient designated sports areas Solihull, so it makes little sense to reduce any such open space facility, also there is the proposal makes no commitment to provide equivalent or better open space areas elsewhere; certainly none that is accessible to local residents. Given the anticipated growth in the local population, unless new sports facilities are made available there will be a net reduction per head; by approving this application it would make the situation even worse and go against the policy. In this regard, the proposed relocation of the Arden Club is not taken into account as it will not generate open space. Not a planning matter but it would be commercially naive for the land owners to trade in freehold property (estimated value c£4m?) for a new facility on leasehold grounds unless commensurate compensation is also paid. My simplistic calculations suggest that it would not be commercially viable for the applicant to make such a payment.

Housing concentration - as proposed is out of keeping with the surrounding area in that the density of housing will be much greater than now (some quote up to 5x) and to achieve the 100 homes the the height of at least some units will be greater that exiting structures, making the proposal unsuitable.

Parking (Local Policy P8) - each dwelling has been allocated one space. By today's standards, with two or more cars per family being uncommon, I do not believe this is enough space and I foresee problems arising from this parking shortage for tenants, exacerbated by the competition for a reduced number of Arden Club parking spots. The obvious issues will be the frustration caused by residents parking on Arden Club space and the spillover onto Sharmans Cross Road.
The Cerda Planning Limited document (job 16/109) appears to have inaccuracies with regard to distances from the site to the railway station and town centre. This means that the cited distances and times to walk are incorrect and therefore not in line with the national planning policy framework requirements, the railway station being one kilometre away and the the town centre is over 1.50 kilometres away.
Traffic (Local Policy P8) - the development will I believe have a notable negative impact on traffic - it will increase congestion. The distance to local amenities , schools and doctors etc. will mean that many people will use the environmentally unfriendly option of the car rather than walking. That is in addition to all the usual car traffic that will take place. The impact on other road users is difficult to assess in what is an already very busy area in peak times. My main concern is the safety of the children attending Sharmans Cross junior school.
The local facilities such as schools and doctors surgeries etc. are stretched; this development will further increase demand negatively impacting existing residents in the area.
Impact on existing resident - their quality of place will be negatively impacted by this out of character, high density scheme with the added inconvenience of noise and traffic.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18

This letter is to object to the above planning application for the following reasons:
Permanent loss of playing field - Solihull needs more, not less playing fields for recreation therefore any building application to build on them should be rejected especially when there are local clubs that want to use this field, and would use it if the rent was affordable. The builder says the field has not been used for six years but I think this is only because the rent asked is so far out of the reach of any local club, reportedly up to £60,000p.a. In the builders application there is only a woolly reference at the end of the report (para 5.27) saying 'there is potential for contributions towards sports provision'. That does not sound very strong and cannot be relied on.
The concentration of housing being proposed is much higher than the neighbouring areas and is therefore not suitable on this plot. To get all the homes in, it seems inevitable that there will be some quite high buildings which is also out of line with the immediate and wider surrounding area. That will reduce the standard of living of those in the area, especially those backing onto and very close to the site.

The impact on the infrastructure of this development especially the schools and doctors but also the roads. The waiting time for doctors appointments is already long and schools are stretched. Apart form the junior school the other schools are quite a long way away, that will mean more school run traffic in an area that is already very busy with school run cars.

Traffic on Streetsbrook Road into Solihull is already bad in rush hours, this development can only make things worse and increase pollution. There have been accidents at the junction of Streetsbrook Road and Sharmans Cross Road where four roads intersect in a very small area, more traffic can only make this worse.
The houses only have one parking bay each. I think this will cause a problem as families have more than one car and they and their visitors will have to park on Sharmans Cross Road. That will slow down the traffic on Sharmans Cross Road which is bad enough without parked cars on it, especially at rush hour.
There will be a lot off cars coming and going from the estate at rush hours, this will make it a lot less safe for the school children going to the Junior school near to the development, as the cars will cross the pavement when they come and go.

LDP - Proposed Housing Development 18 - Sharmans Cross Road, Solihull

Please accept this correspondence as my objection to the proposed housing development.
I have numerous concerns regarding the proposal to build 100 new houses on the site off Sharmans Cross Road, which is currently a rugby club and playing fields.
Building the number of new houses being proposed will obviously have the result of increasing traffic on to Sharmans Cross Road, which is already busy - particularly between the hours of 7.45am and 9.00am as it leads to Sharmans Cross Junior School and is a route to the nearby train station and to Solihull town centre. This road is also a designated cycle route, and the increase in traffic will lead to an increased danger to the cyclists, not to mention the inevitable detrimental effect to the level of pollution.
In addition, this road is also well known to flood during periods of heavy rain, and this proposed development can only worsen this.
As I understand it, the National Planning Policy Framework stipulates that developments have access to local amenities with 800 metres (a 10 minutes' walk). The site for this proposed development does not meet these criteria, as it is in fact some 1700 metres from the town centre in Solihull and 1000 metres from the nearest train station.
I further understand that this proposed site was to be used for SPORT purposes only, therefore, it is clear that the building of 100 houses is NOT acceptable and the proposal should be firmly rejected.

Development Of 100 House Sharmans Cross Road / Rugby Ground

1. Loss of sporting facilities, our understanding is there already a shortage within Solihull and SMBC has a statutory requirement to ensure lost facilities are replaced. But at who's cost.
2. This area of Solihull has many mature trees with TREE PRESEVATIONS ORDERS and is highly valued for its environmental benefits.
3. Our understanding is that proposed development does not fall within the NATIONAL PLANNING POLICY for having access to local amenities, whereas the existing area/amenities do.
4. In 2013 SMBC formally minuted its policy with regards to the use of the grounds only for sport, which implies that this proposed development on this site should not be considered and is inappropriate. Our understanding is that applications for development on this site have previously been refused and withdrawn. So this application should also be refused.

We trust you will give due and proper attention to our OBJECTIONS and not allow this development to happen, not only for ourselves but other local residents who also have OBJECTIONS.

I am writing to register my opposition to the proposed development of 100 houses in Sharman's Cross Road. I do not believe that this will have any positive effects on the local area but indeed will provide have a detrimental impact upon both myself and my family. I live at 18 Sharman's Cross Road which is directly opposite the development. At present we currently suffer from the effects of the headlights of cars and vans exiting from the tennis club and gym early in the morning and from early until late evening and this will be dramatically increased with the volume of cars that will be attached to 100 family dwellings.

The following are the types of issue that we currently experience regarding traffic and cars on Sharman's Cross Road:-

* From 7.30am until 9am in the morning the traffic into Solihull is solid from Streetsbrook Road backwards for a distance of approximately half a mile. This currently causes us difficulty in reversing off our drive into the main road
* We have multiple cars driving into our drive and reversing back as the drivers become bored or late. These actions usually occur in a rushed and unsafe manner. My son and my wife have been close to being hit by the cars on a number of occasions over the past ten years and we have seen pedestrians come close to collision.
* Riding a bike is a safety lottery on Sharman's Cross Road

On the basis of our own and public safety we would push back severely on a dramatic uplift in the number of cars adding to the already overcrowded road.

Since moving to the area we have had severe difficulty regards flooding due to a high water table and arguably not helped by the ever increasing home improvements in the guise of extensions, patio's and drive upgrades. In 2006/2007 our 300foot back garden was under water from the back of our building to the very end of the garden, sometimes up to two feet deep. Due to constant rain this lasted from May to September. As a temporary measure we had to employ a number of cold water pumps to get water to the drains on the main road and used large numbers of sandbags as a barrier. As a result we spent over £10,000 having French drains and a sump installed and despite this investment still suffer albeit a level less than previously.

In addition due to water regularly flooding under the joists of our house to a level of three feet we suffered constant electrical problems and the development of dry rot in our floorboards leading to a number of insurance claims as well as huge stress and health and safety issues. During recent renovations we decided to concrete the whole of the ground floor of the house at a cost of £15,000.

Any large scale building project close to our home would decrease the opportunity for floodwater to filter away and dramatically increase the chances of flooding in the vicinity. The resultant stress and disruption would be very damaging to my family and also any other residents that have suffered similar issues.

Myself and my son are keen followers and in his case a player of sport. The lack of support for sport and its facilities from Solihull Council is well documented. There is a fantastic case for the playing fields in Sharman's Cross Road to be reinvigorated by it being used for sport for people of all ages. I understand that the site in question is one of five sports sites currently being considered for LDP. SMBC has a statutory right to ensure that one or all of these developments should be replaced with equivalent sports facilities. I for one are sceptical that this will happen.

Sport England already rates Solihull on a very low end of the scale for over 16 participation and therefore sports should be encouraged in the borough not be made extinct by building on every available sports pitch.

We walk our dogs on the pitches across the road where the new development is planned. The land is beautiful, adorned by lovely trees and foliage. In addition there is a wide range of wildlife that lives within its confines. To disrupt this space would be an environmental mistake. The tennis club has a number of mature trees which if meddled with would be a very sad state of affairs.

It already very hard to get:-

* A doctor's appointment
* A school place close to home
* A place at the premier sixth form college

The addition of a hundred additional dwellings and also the other residential additions around the borough will make all of the above even harder to obtain.

Overall there is already too few facilities, schools and medical centres with proven under capacity, why exacerbate that with the addition of hundreds over extra people using already stretched resources.

In summary I strongly object to the development In Sharman's Cross Road and would ask that all of the above points are taken into consideration when making your planning decisions. The council its officers and employees exist to support the needs of the residents of Solihull. I believe that they would be letting down these people by approving this development.

I wish to strongly object to the proposed development on the rugby/sports field area off Sharmans Cross Road as referenced above.
There are several points I wish to raise as part of my objection, as follows:
Loss of Green Space: The green spaces of Solihull are its lungs. However there is an acute shortage of such green spaces in Solihull relative to other conurbations throughout the UK and even less dedicated to outdoor sports, which has been proven to be important to the wellbeing of our citizens. The developers have been incredibly cynical in their management of the sports ground they purchased, having set uneconomic rents for its use by local sports groups, quoting rents as high as £60,000 a year to deter them from pursuing their applications, and have refused to engage with local sports groups in any form of dialogue. Yes they have religiously cut the grass year on year, having just paid lip service to the council, and even though when they purchased the land and promised the land would be used for sport, just two months after acquiring it they put in the first of their plans to build houses upon it. These "green lungs" once built upon are lost for ever. Have you ever heard of a housing estate reverting to green parkland? If you have, it is certainly a most rare occurrence!
Loss of this Natural Sponge for the absorption of surface water: There is an incredibly high water table in this area and the houses surrounding can often find that in periods of heavy rainfall, their gardens flood. This large expanse of well drained green space is important to the natural drainage of the surrounding area. If this green area is built upon, a serious level of investment will be needed to ensure adequate drainage is put in place to ensure neighbouring properties, which are effectively sitting on the flood plain of the Alder Brook (mostly sub-terrainian), do not flood. Any reduction in the surrounding deciduous trees, which also help tp soak up excess water, will also exacerbate local flooding. All the large deciduous trees around the tennis club should be subject to Tree Preservation Orders to ensure that they continue to perform this important function, but also to maintain the character of the area.
Suspicion that an additional road will be bulldozed through to Winterbourne Road: The proposal to build 100 properties (20 more than in their last failed application) is not only an extremely arrogant and aggressive stance to take with the people who live nearby and who successfully defeated Oakmoor's previous planning application, but it is screamingly obvious to anybody looking at the plans that Oakmoor will seek to purchase a property on Winterbourne Road and drive an additional road into what has always been a quiet and sleepy cul-de-sac, completely destroying the character of this quiet residential street. Apparently the developers have already made an approach to some house owners in Winterbourne Road who back on to the tennis club. Clearly they are not being honest in their intentions here and the full horror of what they are actually proposing to do has not been socialised with you as a committee or with the residents in Beaminster Road, Dorchester Road and Winterbourne itself. It is not on the plan today, and if it is then subsequently approved then those who approve this application must do so if they are set upon it on the strict understanding that they will not sanction the building of additional roads into the area over and above those which already exist.
Personal impact: Whilst it counts for nothing, my English Setter Blade is going to be very disappointed. His daily walk across the playing fields and frequent the sight of a resident Buzzard, or of the green woodpeckers dipping across the field in flight and the rabbits keeping close to their burrows amongst the blackberries and damsons, which we pick every year to make jam, are now going to be a thing of the past. It just makes me feel sad and all I can say to Oakmoor and anybody else who approves their plans is 'shame on you'.
Please re-consider this proposed housing development on this important "green field" site.

Sharmans Cross Housing Development - LDP / Proposed Housing allocation 18

I am writing to express my total opposition to the proposal to build 100 houses on the site of the former rugby ground on Sharmans Cross Road. The grounds for my objection are as follows: -

The excessive density of housing that such a development would create, would be totally out of character with surrounding housing development. Such a large development would have an extremely detrimental effect on the surrounding area, particularly in respect of traffic congestion and pressure on other infrastructure - schools, medical centres, drainage etc. The area already suffers from an existing potential flooding problem. A substantial increase in hard areas will inevitably worsen this problem and its attendant drainage and sewage problems. I would add that any attempt to access this proposed site from Winterbourne Road would have similarly detrimental effects and produce traffic chaos in Winterbourne, Beaminster and Dorchester roads, as well as having a hugely damaging environmental impact on these roads and their residents.

In conclusion, I would add that I fully understand the LDP's requirement to meet Central Government's housing targets. I would, therefore, humbly suggest that a more modest and realistic target, say 25 new homes, would be more in line with the character of the area and avoid many of the obvious detrimental impacts of the existing proposal.

Yours faithfully,

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18

I write to formally object to the above proposed housing allocation to the rear of Sharmans Cross Road for the following reasons:-

Permanent loss of sporting facilities

I understand that this sports field is one of five that are threatened with development in this proposal, at a time when Solihull is falling far short in providing accessible sport for the over 16's within the borough. As they have a statutory requirement to replace lost pitches with those of equivalent accessibility and quality, I fail to see how they intend to meet this.

Increased traffic and parking

Sharmans Cross Road is a major route into Solihull and suffers from major congestion at rush hours and school drop off times. Adding 100, or even 50 dwellings, with the prospect of 2 cars each, accessing onto this busy road with children & cyclists is a recipe for disaster. The parking situation is dire and can only deteriorate with the increased demand and loss of parking spaces for the tennis club. There are already parking restrictions in place in an attempt to deter workers in the town centre from parking, but this has merely passed the problem on to the side roads. This can only get worse.

Flooding

The road floods regularly outside the school and further down towards Streetsbrook Road. On more than one occasion we have experienced effluent backing up our downstairs toilet and others around us regularly suffer severe and prolonged flooding of their gardens, despite employing methods to try to alleviate the problem. Many times the manholes in the road have lifted with the force of water. This is surely evidence that our ancient sewers are not coping, without the extra demand more dwellings would create and the loss of natural drainage by concreting over a field.

Design and appearance

Urbs in Rure is rapidly losing its "rure" appeal. The old Forest of Arden has given us a legacy of some wonderful open and wooded spaces. Coppices which sustain a variety of wildlife must be preserved - they can never be replaced - in the same way sports fields once lost cannot. We have every nationality as neighbours and all would say they moved here to enjoy the character of the environment. This proposed development with its likely 2/3 storey apartments is totally out kilter with the surroundings and will lead to overshadowing, loss of light and completely change the pleasant nature of this area. There are no other apartment blocks in or near this part of town - a dangerous precedent to allow these now.

I urge SMBC to consider this proposal carefully and not allow this greedy developer, who has effectively sat on this sports field for over five years whilst putting every obstacle in the way of other sports clubs who are desperate for pitches to use this facility, to profit from building on a valuable neighbourhood amenity. As freeholders of the land in question I would hope that you would wish to preserve this sporting facility and re-affirm your refusal to sell the freehold as you policy minuted in 2013.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18
I wish to make some objections to the proposed development on Sharmans Cross Road.

1. Affect on traffic along Sharmans Cross. There is currently a primary school and at the start and end of the school day there is considerable congestion along the road. An additional 100 homes will increase the congestion - due to decrease in parking spaces for the tennis club and the poor provision for parking spaces within the development 9 which will increase the on road parking). This will increase the risk of a fatality amongst the children and parents associated with the school. It will also make safe access for public services and transport along the road much more hazardous.
2. This will bring increased risk to cyclists using the designated cycle route.
3. The proposed level of development is much in excess of the current neighbourhood.
4. There is already high pressure on the local infrastructure, such as schooling and medical facilities, and there does not seem to be any provision to increase these appropriately.
5. This will result in a permanent loss of local sporting facilities and is in direct opposition to the national push to increase the health and fitness of the population.
6. This development is further from local amenities than is recommended by the National Planning Policy Framework.
7. Finally In 2013 SMBC minuted that they would not sell the freehold to grounds set only for sport.

LDP - Proposed Housing Allocation 18

I wish to record my objection to the LDP Proposed Housing Development 18.

1. The proposal is completely out of character with the the local area and the density is totally inappropriate. The proposal is unacceptable and will result in loss of privacy and overshadowing to existing properties.
2. The increase in traffic that would arise from the proposed plan for 100 houses, on the reasonable assumption of 2 cars per household, will compound existing local road gridlock and air pollution problems particularly at peak times including school drop and collection times, post school trips, early morning and early evening commuter times. The increased risk of accident and risk to health, especially children travelling to Sharmans Cross School can not be ignored and their welfare should receive greater emphasis. The potential risk of children being withdrawn from taking their independent and unaccompanied walks to school because of fears from parents of the introduction of new roads (in to and out of the new estate) must not be compromised especially with national concerns over child obesity, diabetes and other health conditions. We must support all initiatives to encourage children to exercise not discourage or put barriers in their way.
3. The demand for school places and the pressure on GP services, hospitals and other infrastructure are already oversubscribed and overstretched and it therefore raises questions about the effect extra demand will place on them. The proposal will potentially lead to a further deterioration of service levels.
4. The loss of sporting facilities is unacceptable. As there is a covenant on the land which covers its use for sporting use only, this must be given priority. Solihull's record for participation in sport is extremely worrying compared to national figures and an investment in, not an erosion of facilities must be supported. Health and well being are key considerations which the Council must encourage and promote not in words but actions. It is a travesty that the pitches have remained unused for so long despite there being a number of clubs with genuine interest in utilising them. The question of commitment to health and well being again is raised.
5. The destruction of the green land that would occur if the proposal were agreed would increase eve more the extent of flooding which we see on Sharmans Cross Road whenever there is heavy rain. The road simply cannot cope with this at present.
6. In addition, the destruction of the green land will destroy the habitat of the local wildlife, both prey and predators.

I write to object to the proposed development of 100 houses on the rugby club grounds at the rear of 31-35 Sharmans Cross Road Solihull.
I have lived in Solihull for 9 years and I have noticed significant traffic in the morning and evening outside this section of Sharmans Cross Road. There is significant congestion around Sharmans Cross Road and Streetbrook/ Dorchester Road.
There are already schools, on Sharmans cross road and heavy commuter traffic is adding to the congestion. A further 100 houses will cause health safety concerns.
I would think this traffic will cause danger to pedestrians/ school children. The level of homes being considered is disproportionately too high for the area available. The character of the area and surrounding houses will be destroyed.
Oakmoor has made false claims in previous applications also, and are looking to make a quick financial gain with little regard for the residents of Sharmans cross road.
There are not enough playing fields and the greenery at the rear should remain, this is what makes Solihull what it is.
I strongly object to the fields being developed for housing. This area should become green belt land to avoid developers that are just interested in making quick profits to stay away.
Kind regards