Question 38 - Amber Sites

Re: Golden End Farm

I don't think this area is an appropriate solution. I viewed the plans for this site with the Grandson of the owner and couldn't see how this scale of development could ever look appropriate within an historic conservation area, and overlooked by the hill on which Barston Village is built. I was also surprised how close the properties backed onto mine, which I explained would mean that the view from my garden would be the back of the houses instead of fields and hills leading all the way to Barston. This would devalue my home, not just in financial terms but also aesthetically, as the views from my home would be lost.

The area of Kixley Lane leads into several footpaths, and this area is a popular walking area, including the Grand Union Canal towpath and the path leading up to Barston. Both of these areas overlook Golden End Farm, where you can see the Parish Church of Knowle in the distance. Any development would block that view and change this historic route into Knowle. This footpath at the end of Kixley Lane was once the main route that the early Christians used when they went to Church at Hampton in Arden, so it would been a view that hasn't changed since 1396, when a Church was built in Knowle. Many people in Knowle feel an affection for it's historic buildings and the Knowle Society are active in trying to prevent inappropriate development or changes that would impact on the "Village' appearance.

The fields proposed for this development have never been fallow in the last 25 years, they are fertile, with a clay subsoil and well maintained. I consider the land to be good quality agricultural land.

The plans also suggested some solutions to parking for the School in Kixley Lane, but I feel this has been resolved with the town car parks now only half full, following the charging system introduced by the Council and the consequent closure of many of the High Street Shops.

No, I do not believe it is right that in all cases these sites should be omitted. I believe sites 59, 104, 109, 188, 205 and 413 should all be included, as they appear to represent justifiable development opportunities. As outlined above, to simply chose sites based on current assessment criteria is significantly flawed as it is in direct contradiction to the Local Plan, not considering demarcation of existing settlements and with no cap to the percentage increase at each respective area). Furthermore, the extension of green belt required is no different to that being proposed in other settlement areas.

I was reassured by Sheran French at the open day at Knowle Library on 23rd February that our land at Barn End, 98 Grove Road, a Local Wildlife Site, has now been excluded from the developer's proposals. In addition, the abandoned garden/orchard between us and No.88 has also been excluded. I would like to point out that this land, known as Site 109, provides habitat for owls, bats and badgers, and has several notable trees and hedges. I was also informed that the two fields behind us, that border Norton Green Lane, have also been excluded from the proposals, we feel that this move has protected these existing habitats .

objection

I believe that the land off Blue Lake Road, Dorridge, should be omitted. Although it is described as 'low-performing' green belt, this area feels more like open countryside than the 'Arden Triangle' land, which is more surrounded by existing developments.

400 houses Arden Triangle and 400 Hampton Road Thackers.The increase in population around Warwick Road/Knowle
Village will be chaos/gridlock and to include Golden End Farm Ref A4 prime farm land (11 points) as an amber site
(250 houses) is ridiculous.Kixley Lane is an historical old lane. Cheswick Green in the 70s and Dickens Heath in the
90s proves that Box Trees, Stratford Road Corridor is ideal for 1000/1500 homes with a new village.
I object to Golden End Farm as an amber site it must stay in the Green Belt.

Please see attached letter. This is a blatant example of Garden Grabbing in the Green Belt!

I believe that site 413 should be omitted from the local plan as a site for residential development. My reasons are given here:-
1. It will not sit well within the landscape and we should be protecting the green belt land.
2. The high visual sensitivity from both Blue Lake Road and Knowle Wood Road.
3. Not in keeping with the character of the village or natural environment.
4. Enormous strain will be placed on local infrastructure, roads, parking, congestion..
5. Great pressure on schools, medical services, etc.
6. Will not be sympathetic to low density development in the area

I object to Ref A5 & Ref 413 being included. This is Green Belt land grabbing on a large scale totally unnecessary in this already over developed community of Knowle & Dorridge.

Q38 - Amber Sites

It is right that sites at Golden End Drive and Blue Lake Road, Dorridge should be omitted having regard to, in particular, Green Belt considerations and in principle objections.

Eroding Green Belt is not in my view the best way to expand housing. There is little infrastucture in place to support the 22 dwellings, which will cause issues for both Dorridge and Hockley Heath. The road already exists but there are no pavements and currently no buses, so the new residents will be forced to use cars and further overcrowd the neighbouring roads, especially at rush hour.

I object to the land called Golden End Farm being demoted from green belt to amber which is the first step to building on the land. Kixley Lane is an ancient lane and possibly the only one left in Knowle. The lane is used exclusively for walkers and canal boat users and we would lose this amenity if the land was developed.

Warwick Grange
Kenilworth Road
Knowle
B93 0JH
Thursday 14th March 2019


To whom it may concern,

We write to strongly object to Golden End Farm, Knowle (Ref: A4/Site 59) being allocated as a Amber site in Solihull Council's draft local plan. We believe Golden End Farm should remain as green belt area and our reasons are below.

Demolition of Top Grade Green Belt Land
On the green belt assessment report 2016, Golden End Farm, site 59 (RP37 in the assessment report) scored an extremely high 11 out of a possible 12 points when assessed against meeting Green belt criteria. There is no other refined parcel piece of land that scores as highly. In fact it has scored higher that 2 of the 5 broad areas that have been assessed. Yet other sites that scored significantly lower have retained their green belt status over site 59, why? An example being site 13 (RP69 in the green belt assessment) which scored 6. This site is in a sustainable location yet has been removed from the plan. Instead you are considering allocating site 59 to become amber that is less sustainable and scores higher? This is unjustifiable. This is just one example that came to light after my first examination of the plan. Over the coming weeks I will continue to work on an evidence base for this argument and reserve the right to submit further evidence and representation as it becomes available.

Impact to traffic on the Junction with Warwick Road/Kenilworth Road
Traffic is already a problem along Kenilworth Road as it meets Warwick Road. Cars park on the side of the road which means that two cars can't pass. If you then want to turn right on to Warwick Road this is already extremely challenging with the density of traffic. Add an additional 250 homes on to site 59 and this could quite easily equate to an additional 250-500 car movements at peak times. The area couldn't cope with the volume of traffic that would be created.

Knowle Infrastructure unable to Cope with Increased population
The only two development sites currently in the Knowle Dorridge and Bentley Heath plan, Arden Triangle site 9 and Hampton Road site 8, are in Knowle. These sites will create an additional 950 homes for Knowle infrastructure to accommodate. That is a massive 25% increase in the current number of properties in Knowle. Knowle infrastructure will already be bursting at the seams so to add an additional 250 homes to site 59 in Knowle is incomprehensible. Particularly when its neighbouring village Dorridge is far more equipped to cope with an increase in population and yet there are no sites put forward for development? Knowle has a small metro supermarket whilst Dorridge has a Sainsbury's superstore. Dorridge also has a train station for many of its population to vacate and return to village for work purposes, Knowle does not.

Considering the facts above we cannot comprehend why the council would propose adding site 59 to the development plan. As already stated we will continue to work on evidence to support our argument and will submit further evidence and representation as it become available


Sincerely

Emma and David Watson

Comments from MICHAEL HARPER 64 Grove Road Knowle B93 0PJ ( Retired Architect).

Amber Sites. Golden End Farm/Kixley Lane. Blue Lake Road/Oak Green.

I favour Golden End Farm site - it is well related to the village and has contained boundaries. The Blue Lake Road site worries me. Taken together with The Arden Triangle, it would bring too much weight of housing to that part of Knowle and would destroy the village character. At present it has some housing but the general appearance and feel is rural or semi rural and this should be retained at all costs.

The Arden Triangle.

There is a section of the site running alongside and adjacent to Grove Road, specified on the plan to be "Low Density". This is highly desirable but I would suggest that it is taken one step further and left as open space - if considered appropriate I would suggest Public open space.

Dispersed Sites.

All important in the development of the area is the maintenance of the village character
and nobody is going to argue with that. A key factor in this objective is to break the sizes of the individual sites down - lots of small sites rather than one or two big ones - and there is the opportunity to do this in KDBH. There are lots of smaller plots in the area which are suitable for development; these have already been assessed and some already successfully developed - a good example is off Four Ashes Road.


I hope these comments are helpful.

Comments from MICHAEL HARPER 64 Grove Road Knowle B93 0PJ ( Retired Architect).

Amber Sites. Golden End Farm/Kixley Lane. Blue Lake Road/Oak Green.

I favour Golden End Farm site - it is well related to the village and has contained boundaries. The Blue Lake Road site worries me. Taken together with The Arden Triangle, it would bring too much weight of housing to that part of Knowle and would destroy the village character. At present it has some housing but the general appearance and feel is rural or semi rural and this should be retained at all costs.

The Arden Triangle.

There is a section of the site running alongside and adjacent to Grove Road, specified on the plan to be "Low Density". This is highly desirable but I would suggest that it is taken one step further and left as open space - if considered appropriate I would suggest Public open space.

Dispersed Sites.

All important in the development of the area is the maintenance of the village character
and nobody is going to argue with that. A key factor in this objective is to break the sizes of the individual sites down - lots of small sites rather than one or two big ones - and there is the opportunity to do this in KDBH. There are lots of smaller plots in the area which are suitable for development; these have already been assessed and some already successfully developed - a good example is off Four Ashes Road.


I hope these comments are helpful.

Amber sites on Tanworth Lane, Cheswick Green should not be considered. In Green belt and would spoil nature of area already very busy. Some are "Garden Grabbing" which is not acceptable. Flood risk to Cheswick Green would increase as close to Blythe flood plain. Lack of infrastructure for more housing here. The parish has already had to take more than its share of new development with Cheswick Place and Blthye Valley. This must be completed before any more is considered so the full impact can be determined.

Please see covering letter

Please see covering letter

Please see covering letter

Please see covering letter

Land off Blue Lake Road should not be considered an 'Amber Site' as it is not a 'less harmful' site due to character of the area, impact on a thoroughly used green belt farm, traffic and highway control. Impact on local residents already having travel, traffic and parking issues on Grove Road, Knowle Wood Road, Blue Lake Road, Avenue Road, Dorridge Road and Station Road when heading to the village High St. This will cause far too much harm to the existing issues. No highway report has been done and nothing has been clarified about the roads.

Please see covering letter

We believe that site 413 (land off Blue Lake Road, Dorridge) should be omitted from the Local Plan as a site for residential development for the following reasons:
Greenbelt status
The land is greenbelt land and we believe this status should remain unchanged. We note that the Council now considers Site 413 to be a lower performing piece of greenbelt land under the Green Belt Assessment however the site was rejected for inclusion in the last Local Plan and we cannot see any reason for a change in opinion on the quality of the land.
We disagree with the Council's assessment of the visual sensitivity as Low within the Landscape Character Assessment. The land is open and is visible from several perspectives. It is visually pleasing and is currently farmed. The land contains historic oak trees and there is a public footpath through the area. This land gives this part of Dorridge its semi-rural character and is the first part of countryside that people in Dorridge come to. Whilst there is some ribbon development around the sides of the land, this is extremely low density, consisting of substantial properties on large plots.
Development is not in keeping with local character
The National Planning Policy Framework requires that residential development should "promote local character". That requirement would not be met for development on Site 413 in the context of the existing developed area.
Development of site 413 goes against the Council's Spatial Plan, the Local Plan and the Neighbourhood Plan.
According to the Spatial Plan, the thrust of the Spatial Strategy is for Solihull to remain an economically successful Borough through sustainable economic growth whilst sustaining its attractiveness and without undermining the qualities and defining characteristics of those places which attract people and investment to Solihull.
One of the objectives stated in the Draft Local Plan are to "conserve and enhance the qualities of the built, natural and historic environment that contribute to character and local distinctiveness and the attractiveness of the mature residential suburbs and the rural area"
According to the Council's Policy P15 - (Development) proposals will be expected to meet the following key principles: "conserves and enhances local character, distinctiveness and streetscape quality"
The Neighbourhood Plan sets out clear principles around development of the Green Belt in Policy VC1. Under that policy "any development must be in harmony with the rural character of the villages' surroundings and sit well in the landscape." Development of Site 413 at anything near the density proposed would fundamentally contravene that policy.
Policy D1 in the Neighbourhood Plan goes on to set out clear principles around character and appearance of development. In particular, it establishes the following criteria:
o Development should be in harmony with the village character and sit well within the landscape;
o Development layouts should be characteristic of the surrounding area;
o Development should be of a density characteristic of the area; and
o Development should be in keeping with the scale, siting and appearance of nearby buildings
The site is bordered by Grove Road, Knowle Wood Road, Blue Lake Road and Norton Green Road. Much of this area is known informally as the Dorridge or Golden Triangle. Properties on these roads in many cases are distinctive and individual, consisting of substantial family homes. Many are period properties set in large plots -where individual houses have been demolished, they have been replaced by modern family homes of a similar size or larger. The distinctive character of this area stems from the type of properties as well as the semi-rural location in which they are situated (the greenbelt land). The recent judicial review relating to development on Alderbrook Road in Solihull made it clear that the character of the the town's mature suburbs and by implication rural area need to be respected.
On any objective assessment, development of Site 413, which is currently surrounded by low-density development sitting sympathetically around a well-established Green Belt boundary, scores very low against the above criteria. There are several "Red Sites" in the KDBH area which would objectively score much higher.
Other factors
Blue Lake Road and Norton Green Road are small semi-rural roads that are not capable of taking large amounts of traffic. Blue Lake Road in particular has a bend which makes it difficult for homeowners to exit their properties safely and this would be even more difficult with greater volumes of traffic.
Public transport - accessibility by bus is assessed by SMBC as being very high however current bus routes are some distance from the site and the surrounding roads would not be suitable for buses.
Although the site is fairly close to Dorridge Station, people will not walk to the station particularly when under time pressure. We live on Blue Lake Road and often still drive to the station when we have a train to catch as do our neighbours. There is already a problem with train users parking on Dorridge Road and surrounding roads and although there are plans to increase the amount of parking at Dorridge Station, there will still not be enough parking with more users and particularly if parking is on a paid basis, there will continue to be overspill parking on local roads.
Our concerns about the process
Site 413 is currently excluded from the Local Plan. The Council has invited comments from interested parties as to whether the site should continue to be omitted from the Plan. However, we understand that the owner/promoter of Site 413 is already engaging with the Council about potential development of the site and has provided the Council with several versions of its concept plans. The landowner/promoter also shows a vision plan for the site development on its website and a potential development even has a name "Oak Green". We therefore have questions about the transparency of the discussions taking place given that at this point that land is excluded from the Local Plan. We would like to know whether the proposal to change the status of Site 413 to amber stems from pressure by the landowner/promoter and would like reassurances that in selecting amber sites, the Council has performed the same amount of due diligence on all the sites that were previously omitted from inclusion in the Local Plan. In particular, there would appear to be other sites where housing development of the kind needed would be more in keeping with the density and character of the local area for example Site 207.
Summary
We believe that there is a strong, objective case not to include Site 413 as a site for residential development within the Local Plan. Exclusion of the site from the Local Plan continues to be correct. Development of this site is not in keeping with the character of the local area and therefore would go against national and local planning statements and also the Neighbourhood Plan which following the result of the election on 14 March will now be adopted.

see attached document

Q 38 - Amber Sites

The following amber sites should be included in preference to developing site 26 & site 4.

Land r/o 575A to 587 Tanworth Lane, Cheswick Green
This development takes the form of a back land development with an access onto Tanworth Lane. Therefore development would take place to the rear of existing frontages and would not impact on the openness of the undeveloped Green Belt opposite the site.

Golden End Farm, Kenilworth Road, Knowle
This site is in a very accessible location. Accessibility is good. It is close to the employment development areas of Solihull town centre and UK Central. It would help to spread the burden of housing across the Borough and could be used to relieve the inappropriately high proportion of proposed housing at Blythe Villages which is remote from employment areas.

Land off Blue Lake Road, Dorridge (ref A5)
The site is located a short distance to the east of the centre of Dorridge. Although in a Green Belt parcel this site is lower performing (overall score of 4).
It is close to the employment development areas of Solihull town centre and UK Central. It would help to spread the burden of housing across the Borough and could be used to relieve the inappropriately high concentration proposed housing at Blythe Villages which is remote from employment areas.

Rowood Drive, Solihull (ref A6)
This is site hasn't been used since 2011 for 'little leagues football' and Lode Heath School haven't used the facility since the early 1990's. It is located in the urban area and would be well suited to residential development.

It is close to the employment development areas of Solihull town centre and UK Central. It would help to spread the burden of housing across the Borough and could be used to relieve the inappropriately high concentration proposed housing at Blythe which is remote from employment areas. Its impact on existing infrastructure would be minimal.

The Rowood Drive playing field has not been utilised as a playing field for over 5 years and the site is not identified within the Council's Playing Pitch Strategy thus it is not recommended for retention. However, the Playing Pitch Strategy identifies that there are shortfalls in provision which could be remedied by improving pitch quality to alleviate overplay, reduce shortfalls and increase future provision. It is therefore considered that off site compensation will be required to mitigate for the loss of the playing field.

A lot of new housing has already built in recent years causing more congestion and severe shortage of adequate car park spaces. Hence cars parked along residential roads causing obstruction. Such a large number of extra homes would place too much strain on local roads in particular those going towards Knowle, also M42 A34 and A41. Some of these are narrow lanes ie:- Grove Road and Norton Green Road. The extra vehicles would spoil the character and tranquillity of Knowle village and surrounds.
It contravenes Policy D1 as its far too dense for the rural surroundings. It wouldn't promote local character as required by The National Planning Policy Forum. Visual sensitivity would be high due to the open nature of Blue Lake Road.
Accessibility by bus would be poor. Services have just been reduced to an hourly service. It is half a mile from Dorridge to this development and there will be nowhere to park these extra cars if people were able to walk to the bus stops


Site 207 would make far more sense due to access to Solihull town ,M42 A34 etc thereby reducing traffic from more existing congested area.

Q 38 - Amber Sites

The following amber sites should be included in preference to developing site 26 & site 4.

Land r/o 575A to 587 Tanworth Lane, Cheswick Green
This development takes the form of a back land development with an access onto Tanworth Lane. Therefore development would take place to the rear of existing frontages and would not impact on the openness of the undeveloped Green Belt opposite the site.

Golden End Farm, Kenilworth Road, Knowle
This site is in a very accessible location. Accessibility is good. It is close to the employment development areas of Solihull town centre and UK Central. It would help to spread the burden of housing across the Borough and could be used to relieve the inappropriately high proportion of proposed housing at Blythe Villages which is remote from employment areas.

Land off Blue Lake Road, Dorridge (ref A5)
The site is located a short distance to the east of the centre of Dorridge. Although in a Green Belt parcel this site is lower performing (overall score of 4).
It is close to the employment development areas of Solihull town centre and UK Central. It would help to spread the burden of housing across the Borough and could be used to relieve the inappropriately high concentration proposed housing at Blythe Villages which is remote from employment areas.

Rowood Drive, Solihull (ref A6)
This is site hasn't been used since 2011 for 'little leagues football' and Lode Heath School haven't used the facility since the early 1990's. It is located in the urban area and would be well suited to residential development.

It is close to the employment development areas of Solihull town centre and UK Central. It would help to spread the burden of housing across the Borough and could be used to relieve the inappropriately high concentration proposed housing at Blythe which is remote from employment areas. Its impact on existing infrastructure would be minimal.

Please refer to attached documents.
Lichfields is instructed by Heyford Developments Ltd ('Heyford Developments') to respond formally to the Solihull Draft Local Plan Review supplementary consultation (January 2019 - March 2019).

We would support the development of Golden End Farm, Kenilworth Road, Knowle (Site 59), an amber parcel of land which could be developed with 250 dwellings. The site is reasonably level. There is a clearly defined boundary along Kixley Lane, Grand Union Canal and Kenilworth Road.
The site is adjacent to an existing primary school and within walking distance of facilities in Knowle. Development will not affect Knowle conservation area.
We would also support the development of Land off Blue Lake Road, Dorridge (Sites 104 and 413), an amber parcel of land which could be developed with 340 dwellings.