Question 11 - Infrastructure Requirements at Blythe

The road infrastructure of Dickens Heath simply would not cope with an increased traffic, it doesn't cope now with the traffic flow. To plan to solve that by simply stating that more off street parking would be provided is neither feasible neither would it solve the problem. Whitlocks End station does not provide enough parking to facilitate further use by this many new dwellings.

The document states that sports provision is to be improved. How can this be improved by building on all of the sports fields at Old Yardleians, Highgate, Wychall Wanderers, Solihull Town and Leafield?

At the moment these playing fields are used extensively and will leave our children nowhere to play.

Traffic in Dickens Heath is a nightmare already - it can take 20 minutes to leave the village at rush hour. None of the requirements set out how the obvious increase in traffic is going to be addressed.

Whitlock end train station car park is already before 8am on a weekday. There are not comments adding additional car parking spaces.

Trains are standing room only at peak times. How is this going to be addressed.

The additional classroom intake at Tidbury Green school is to accommodate the circa 500 houses that are currently being built in Tidbury Green. You cannot double count this! Even more classrooms will be required in the area.
Traffic in Dickens Heath is a nightmare already. None of the requirements set out how the obvious increase in traffic is going to be addressed.

Whitlock end train station car park is already before 8am on a weekday. There are not comments adding additional car parking spaces.

The current plans show a reduction in the number of sports pitches/fields.

I honestly understand there is a need for housing as our population grows ever larger however I am disgusted at how much 'green belt' land in Shirley/Blythe area is having to donate to the cause. It seems we have the lions share of new housing developments on our door step (mine particularly being directly opposite the proposed site 11 & 12)! The field behind my house becomes more like the wetlands in heavy rainfall and i have deep concern the overload of housing proposed on site 12 will have an adverse effect on the flood zone 2 & 3.

Since the increase of housing within DH/Tidbury heights, road traffic has increased, most days causing a standstill at school times at the 2 local schools. With more houses planned to be built will increase the number of new pupils. I foresee a fatal accident waiting to happen, with the amount of traffic already going through these areas, more parents dropping off/picking up their children with little parking on offer.

Tythe Barn Lane struggles generally on a day to day basis with the traffic that goes through here, how on earth would this road physically cope with 350 new houses! Open space, sports facilities.

The current houses in the village including the building of affordable housing will bring down the prices of houses currently in the area. We moved to Tidbury Green, due to it being a lovely village with the green belt land, open spaces and sports. We have invested a lot of money into our property and feel this will have a negative impact on ours and many others around us. Crime has increased drastically and without a local police station, this isn't going to get better it will put even more strain on the police force.

The infrastructure i.e broadband and mobile phone reception is also horrendous and many of the new houses are also struggling. Services are unfit for purpose especially in this day and age and no answers to when this will improve.

Having read through the Draft Local Plan I believe the following areas require further notification of plans relating to the infrastructure which are not included in the Plan:
Improved public transport is a current issue and will be increased if this Plan is adopted. However, improving frequency is insufficient as attention is also required to the routing of busses and the network of roads on which they are expected to travel.
Whilst agreeing to improvements for cycle and walking connectivity to Whitlocks End Station the reality is an increase housing will increase the requirement for car parking at the station which is currently insufficient. The plan does not address this issue. Pedestrian and vehicular access and egress to the station is poor creating poor traffic flow around the area and putting pedestrians at risk. Highway improvements referred to for Site 26 in the plan refer to "shifting the focus of vehicular traffic movements away from the congested Dickens Heath Road to Bills Lane/Haslucks Green Road, Haslucks Green Road, Junction of Tilehouse Lane and Haslucks Green Road," and yet these areas are already under levels of high traffic flow. The Plan offers no information regarding the impact of the Plan on these roads and pavements some of which are outside their area. What are the views of Bromsgrove Council on the plans for Site 4?

We as residents of tidbury green object to proposals of site 4. The infrastructure in place for schools and travel are not sustain able with an addition of 350 houses. With lowbrook lane development and tidbury heights development , and impacting on green belt land , site 4 going a head would take over yet more green belt land which is against government policy and impact on infrastructure with no improvement measures

We as residents of tidbury green object to proposals of site 4. The infrastructure in place for schools and travel are not sustain able with an addition of 350 houses. With lowbrook lane development and tidbury heights development , and impacting on green belt land , site 4 going a head would take over yet more green belt land which is against government policy and impact on infrastructure with no improvement measures

Dickens Heath is currently struggling with levels of traffic at peak commuting times which causes heavy traffic congestion particularly (1) at the junction between Tythe Barn Lane and Tilehouse Lane; and (2) at the junction between Tythe Barn Lane and Dickens Heath Road. The traffic from the latter junction is stop/start all of the way to the roundabout junction with Tanworth Lane (where Miller & Carter is situated) and most mornings at peak travel time it takes 15-20 minutes simply to travel from central Dickens Heath to that roundabout (a distance of 1 mile). This traffic is a combination of Dickens Heath residents and traffic making its way up from junction 3 of the M42. It should also be noted that the village is increasingly being used as a short cut for commuters from neighbouring villages who drive into Solihull and the surrounding area.

The road infrastructure within and surrounding Dickens Heath is simply unable to cope with current traffic levels and any additional development within Dickens Heath will simply exacerbate the situation. The village has now reached the absolute limit of its expansion. Any further expansion will place a real and significant strain on roads such as Tythe Barn Lane which, put simply, was never envisaged to cope with high levels of traffic at the time its homes were originally constructed. The village is slowly being choked by the volume of traffic on the roads and simply cannot sustain any further development without a significant strain on the existing infrastructure, amenities and the residents who have chosen to live here.

It should also be noted that Dickens Heath currently has insufficient public parking in the village centre arising from the former Parkridge offices becoming apartments several years ago. This means that residents routinely park their cars on Old Dickens Heath Road and other local roads in an attempt to park close to the village centre. This problem will become exacerbated by additional development.

We understand and appreciate the need for further homes in our region, but would respectfully ask the planning committee to look again at neighbouring brownfield sites with good transport links which would be more equipped to deal with the impact of development than Dickens Heath.

see attached letter

I have a major issue with train travel (needed to get to job in Birmingham). I live in Cheswick Green and if I don't get to whitlocks end by 7.50 I cannot park. I expect it will get much worse with new houses. Cycle paths will not help me as I have children to drop on the way.

This new development will increase the congestion we already experience in Shirley.
Doctors appts are difficult to book due to increased number of patients at my surgery, Haslucks medical centre.
The traffic in Shirley, especially during peak times is getting worse, particularly Stratford Road.
I am concerned about the impact this will have on pollution in the area and for my children in the future.

Could Allocation 13 be changed to a nature reserve, somewhere for our children to spend time and enjoy open spaces.

Commuter roads for example Bills Lane and Tanworth lane are already very busy at peak times and over 2000 new homes will cause virtual grid lock!
The local doctor surgeries are over subscribed.
To maintain a green area for future generations area 13 must be ring fenced against future development.

Generally I agree, but I do have concerns about the congestion extra traffic will bring to Bills Lane, Haslucks Green Road & Tamworth Lane areas. Already at various times of the day its impossible to navigate these roads without huge traffic delays. With the addition of 4000 extra cars, the outlook will be grim.
Its hard now to get a doctors appointment, with the added pressure of an extra 2050 houses to accommodate, how can this be addressed?
To ensure Area 13 remains green for future generations, it could be made into a nature reserve or similar.

Proposed build would equal thousands more cars,
Unfair % in Blythe Valley,
Already bad congestion would become ridiculous, more stress would be put on accident hot spots.
Ancient hedgerows & current developments mean no room to improve roads.
Cycling & walking route are already dangerous with current traffic levels, no room for improvements.
Loss of sports grounds,having detrimental impact on health of residents.
GP capacities already under immense pressure,nation shortage of G Ps
Pollution levels,
Concerns on these areas already flood frequently,
Limited statoin parking.

I live locally and worried about the impact on the local roads and community facilities.

I think it would be difficult to improve Tythe Barn lane sufficiently given there is Akamba, hedgerows and some houses already along this route which would hinder widening of the pavements and road. The lane is narrow and bendy and this would need to be significantly improved before a new estate feeds onto it. The lighting along that route would need to improved to a standard like that seen at the train station in order to improve safety when walking at night.

The extra high curbs along Tythe Barn would need to be lowered as they present a health and safety risk for those walking from the new estate into Dickens Heath. I broke my ankle on there about 5 years ago at a section where the hedgerows impeded on the pavement and the pavement narrowed (and where there was no street lighting).

I am also concerned at about an increase in traffic during peak times. Very often traffic speeds round the s-bends on Tythe Barn lane. Some more traffic calming would ideally be needed on these bends.

It can take 3 weeks to get an appointment at the local doctors. I think adding several hundred homes will make this significantly worse.

The local services and roads/ parking at stations is already insufficient. With the extra housing, this will spiral out of control

Concern re the huge number of houses planned (2050) This number of additional families and their cars will have a huge impact on the already congested roads around Shirley and increase pollution. Additional concerns include: loss of access to green belt land, even less access to health professionals, added pressure on already crowded and underfunded schools, loss of sports ground and areas to play, impact on wildlife, limited parking at stations and flooding.

I object most strongly to the prospect of having the little bit of open space available to the South Shirley residents taken away from us.
I object to having more and more cars spewing out pollution along Tanworth Lane and the surrounding roads at peak times when it becomes almost a car park as the traffic that comes from the Dickens Heath area prevents flow of any other traffic and it would be insane to knowingly increase this further with all of the knowledge we have about potential health hazards this causes.
I object to the strain upon the local schools, primary and secondary, GP practices, parking at stations and continued congestion all around the main A34
2,500 houses represent a conservative estimate of 4,000 more cars

The roads in and around Dickens Heath cannot cope currently in rush hour (particularly mornings) where many roads through the village are gridlocked. This is made worse by on-road parking on major routes through the village and a bottleneck at the Miller and Carter pub island. It is becoming impossible to drive into Solihull in a morning. More housing will make an already very problematic situation worse. The traffic infrastructure should be resolved now before new houses are built.
The comments in this section do not adequately protect the integrity and infrastructure of the villages of Dickens Heath, Cheswick Green and Tidbury Green. They are not being offered the same consideration or protection as villages such as Hockley Heath or Hampton-in-Arden, where greater consideration is being given to infrastructure yet fewer additional houses are being proposed. This is unacceptable to the residents of Blythe. I would ask the councillors and planning inspector to visit Dickens Heath during the morning rush hour before making any decisions - you will see how unworkable these proposals are.

Site 4 Development & its Effect on Dickens Heath

On 9 February my wife and I visited the drop-in session in Dickens Heath Library regarding the Solihull Local Plan Review and although we posed a number of questions to your representatives there, we were extremely dissatisfied with the unsatisfactory answers we were given. Like many of our neighbours we are horrified at the cavalier way Solihull seem to be riding roughshod over local opinion even after seeking the views of local residents. As a resident of Birchy Close for 6 years, we have seen massive changes which have impacted upon us hugely - the increase in traffic (for which there has been no allowance made), the overloading of the infrastructure (which has not been improved) and also the lack of understanding of the original concept of Dickens Heath as a village. I feel we have been swamped. As a member of the Birchy Close Residents' Association, we have been kept fully informed of the intended developments of Dickens Heath at Site 4 and this leaves me with no hope for the future.

Provision of Housing Near Whitlock's End Station

There are other sites in the Solihull area of a lower grade of Green Belt which would have lesser adverse impact and be in a more sustainable location - this would significantly outweigh the benefits of building houses near the railway station

Loss of High Performing Green Belt Land

This is contrary to Government Policy, and would lead to coalescence between Dickens Heath, Whitlock End, Majors Green and Bromsgrove District.

Traffic

Extra people/traffic will exacerbate congestion through the Dickens Heath Village, on the A34 and surrounding roads especially at peak times. Parking at the station and in the village centre is already inadequate, and demands on local rail services will become critical.

Sport Facilities

Loss of sports grounds/recreation areas for 9 clubs which is contrary to Government Policy.





Village Concept

As I stated earlier, the original "village" character was what made it attractive. This would be lost. The award winning design & concept of Dickens Heath is of a new village surrounded by Green Belt with no part more than 800 m / 10 mins walk from village centre - Site 4 housing proposals are beyond this circle. Any proposals to make a footpath onto Birchy Close would be strongly resisted by the residents. Therefore the location of Site 4 is unsustainable: not linked to Dickens Heath (no physical connection by road or cycleway or footpath) and outside the 800 m circle from the village centre. There are existing natural boundaries to the Village - canal to east and north, line of woodland (Ancient woodland, LNR) on west side and this proposal will be out on a limb detracting from the character of the Village.

Ecology

The development would have a significant adverse impact on the ecology of the area, which has 4 Local Wildlife Sites, affecting the ecological connectivity of the area. Also potential for loss of habitats that support legally protected species including great crested newts, badger setts and bat roosts.

Flooding

The sports fields are liable to flooding most years and this would exacerbate the flooding problem to neighbouring properties. The Site consists of deep boulder clay which does not drain well and dwellings would need to be built on deep piles. Other recent developments (e.g. Rumbush Lane) experienced severe flooding problems in May of 2018 despite the contractors having provided "adequate" drainage facilities and holding pools. At the meeting I attended on 9 February the council planning representatives were very reluctant to discuss the council flooding team's researches.

Objections to Site 4

90% of respondents to the last Dickens Heath Parish Council survey objected to Site 4.
Akamba Garden Centre

As a unique and very individual contribution to the locality, this should be retained.



Dickens Heath School

This is already oversubscribed, and the demand for extra places will become vast.

Finally, I feel that Dickens Heath and Tidbury Green have already had more than their "fair share" of development during the lastLocal Plan allocations - the distinct pressure on on roads and other infrastructure has increased to a stage where we are seriously considering moving away from Solihull whom I believe are paying no real attention to the residents, and in every way the Borough is failing to retain its "Urbs in Rure" motto

Adverse impacts of developing this Site for housing would significantly and demonstrably outweigh the benefits of providing houses near a railway station when there are other sites in the Solihull area that are of a lower grade of Green Belt with lesser adverse impacts and are in a more sustainable location.
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.
Extra people/traffic will exacerbate congestion through the Dickens Heath Village, on the A34 and surrounding roads especially at peak times.
Demands on already crowded local rail services and inadequate parking at the station and Village centre.
Loss of sports grounds/recreation areas for 9 clubs which is contrary to Government Policy.
Loss of Village character that makes it attractive. The award winning design & concept of Dickens Heath is of a new village surrounded by Green Belt with no part more than 800 m / 10 mins walk from village centre - Site 4 housing proposals are beyond this circle. Any proposals to make a footpath onto Birchy Close would be strongly resisted by the residents. Therefore the location of Site 4 is unsustainable: not linked to Dickens Heath (no physical connection by road or cycleway or footpath) and outside the 800 m circle from the village centre. There are existing natural boundaries to the Village - canal to east and north, line of woodland (Ancient woodland, LNR) on west side and this proposal will be out on a limb detracting from the character of the Village.
Impact on landscape character; within an area of high sensitivity.
Tithe Barn Wood is a most significant Ancient Woodland in Solihull south of main urban area. The ancient woodland is likely to require a suitable semi-natural buffer which, together with the ancient hedgerows, will reduce the areas of development.
The development would have a significant adverse impact on the ecology of the area, which has 4 Local Wildlife Sites, affecting the ecological connectivity of the area. Also potential for loss of habitats that support legally protected species including great crested newts, badger setts and bat roosts.
The sports fields are liable to flooding most years and would exacerbate the flooding problem to neighbouring properties. The Site consists of deep boulder clay which does not drain well and dwellings would need to be built on deep piles.
90% of respondents to Dickens Heath Parish Council survey objected to Sites 4.
The Akamba Garden Centre should be retained. As owner of this establishment I welcome the indication of the Akamba site as retained in the Illustrative Emerging Concept Masterplan, which is a local employer and acts as a community hub for social interaction.
Demand for places at oversubscribed Dickens Heath School
Dickens Heath and Tidbury Green has already taken its 'fair share' of development during the last Local Plan allocations.

'Highway Improvements' will impact green belt - ancient hedgerows and established trees. The congestion is caused by traffic crossing Shirley from Dicken's Heath and beyond to get to the business parks and Solihull. Houses should be built nearer to jobs.
The 'Green Belt' should include allocations 12,13 and 26 to provide for the health and well being of the local community. The hedgerows, trees, fields and wetland areas are important wildlife habitats which currently link to other green areas to provide wildlife corridors. I support allocation 13 becoming a Nature Reserve.

Objection to site 4 - Land west of Dickens Heath
I strongly object to further building in this area, you may have reduced the number of houses down from 700 to 350, but this is still 350 more properties than this area can stand or actually wants.

I object for the following reasons:

1. This area already has the highest car ownership in the borough. Each property comes with at least 2 new vehicles, which will be at least another 700 vehicles on our roads, that is without considering visitors to these houses. Roads which are already getting more and more congested especially at 'rush hour". The roads are already unsuitable, without even completion of the Fulford hall site, or the new site on Lowbrooke Lane. So what are they going to be like with all this extra housing?

2. The impact on the Green belt, we bought our property here because we felt secure by the Green belt status. We bought into a village surrounded by fields, which is fast becoming a town, and an extension of Shirley. It will just end up as one big concrete site.

3. I do not think the council have considered or thought through the impact on existing households, all this new buildings impact on the character of the area we live, ancient hedgerows and the important Tithe Barn ancient woodland.

4. All this building will impact the ecology of the area, with potential to loose or damage protected sites for badger setts, bats and great crested newts.

5. 90% of Dickens Heath residents objected to site 4, so why is this site even still being considered? As a council do you not listen or even respect your council tax payers?

6. There will be extra demand on Whitocks End station which is already overcrowded, leading to parking problems, congestion and pollution.

Finally, as a village we have had more than our fair share of disruption, and building. Remember this was Green Belt, please start building in other more suitable areas in the borough, and leave us in peace.

Whilst planners prefer density to enable services and amenities to be provided the concentration of new development in Blythe will be unsustainable. It accounts for over 38% of planned growth which is an unfair and disproportionate burden. The existing infrastructure is already under strain (roads, GP practices, schools). It is difficult to see how sufficient road improvement can be made to alleviate the existing and future requirements as they will need to feed into the A34 or congested roads into Solihull. Ancient hedgerows, trees and sites restrict improvements in the immediate area. "Urbs in rure" is being forgotten.

I object to 38% of Solihull housing to be built in Blythe Valley. Extremely unfair. The loss of Green belt will be a disaster for the environment including removal sports grounds and playing fields. With 2000 new homes there will be 4000 extra cars, the roads in Shirley are already congested. This will cause gridlock and already limited parking at stations. There is no recognition of existing air pollution this willbe b exacerbated by this plan. Flooding be a potential problem with a lack of infrastructure options. , I agree with the expert view of Jean Walters. See attached document.

South Shirley where i reside is part Blythe valley.

My family and l are GRAVELY concerned about the councils plans to build on the green belt land near our home.

The council is looking to build 38 percent of new housing stock on my doorstep - which will mean a HUGE increase in the number of cars on our already congested roads. where will always these extra cars go? Furthermore, we will exhaling all the fumes from these vehicles and the area's pollution will significantly increase,which may have a detrimental affect upon our health.

i already struggle to get a parking space at the train station and the trains are always FULL.

Our local schools are all full, where will all the new families school their children?

We will also use our local sports grounds, green land so our children can not play football and other sports locally...where will they go? ...will they be on the streets, fed up..committing crime?

l already wait weeks for a GP appointment, get more strain on our local resources which are already stretched meeting the demands of the current population.

The area is prone to flooding. we have seen significant flooding of new builds in dickens heath. will our homes

What we need and the way forward:

Please do not build on our local fields...please protect our wildlife and open spaces for future generations. it is criminal to build in this area!!!!

We have lovely open fields, which the local community use for recreational purposes promoting good mental health and active lifestyles, which helps people remain well and healthy. This area needs to be PROTECTED AND TURNED INTO A NATURE RESERVE TO PROTECT IT FOR GENERATIONS TO COME.


we also require cycle lanes and improved public transport to improve our highly congested roads.

l object to the plans to build in this area for the following reasons:
we will lost our greenbelt. land that my family and i use all the time. lots of wildlife live there and the area is also prone to flooding which does not make it good land to build on.

if they do build, where will all the new population go to school, get medical treatment? This area is already very busy, our schools and gp surgeries are all full!

how many more cars will this generate? i use my bike and the congestion is appalling already.. we do not need anymore residents.

What we do need is to protect the area by making it a nature reserve so it can never be build on and can continue to serve the local community for future generations. ]
we also need better roads, transport and bike lanes.

The requirements for the infrastructure of so may houses in the Blythe area would be impossible to construct..
38% of the build in approximately 24% of the green belt with roads already heavily congested and the limited availability of widening the roads etc. 2050 new homes creating 4,000 additional cars. With 2,000 new retirement flats/homes already completed in the area not even counted in the percentage. This is totally unfair.
Pollution levels, limited parking at station, ancient hedgerows, no cycle paths in an area that is more populated anywhere else in the Solihull Borough, Open space, sports amenities and flooding.

I live in Major's Green and the infrastructure around is at bursting point. We cannot take on extra vehicles without an obverse effect on the country roads. There needs to be an alternative road(s) put in place to take the traffic away, many use the roads at great speed as Rat Runs.