Draft Local Plan - Supplementary Consultation

We believe that Site 10 west of Meriden should be included as allocated site as we did with the 2016 Draft Local Plan based on evidence from the Meriden Parish Plan (2009), Meriden Parish Design Statement (2011), Meriden Parish Council's straw poll results to the Call for Sites and the Meriden Neighbourhood Plan Survey 2016.

Our comments on the draft concept master plan are as follows:

You are proposing that this 3ha site has 1ha put aside for Public Open Space leaving 2ha for development. This identified area of open space should not be a balancing/SUDS with a perimeter path to nowhere! There is a need for more provision for health and wellbeing across all age ranges.

By proposing around 100 homes on the remaining 2ha, this would equate to 50 dph which in our view is too high a density having regard to existing densities and the need to preserve and enhance the character of the village.

You are working with three landowners and the only one who has come back with any detail is
McCarthy and Stone proposing 24 1-bed apartments, 24 2-bed apartments and 6 bungalows and you state that the development of 3 storeys on this site could be appropriate. Their site is the gateway into Meriden and 3 storeys would be visually conflicting with our village character. Parking allocation on the proposed plan shows 48 bays. This conflicts with our draft Housing Design policy in Meriden's Draft Neighbourhood Development Plan which states 'allocated parking spaces (excluding garages) must be included at a ratio of 1 space per bedroom. This would mean that McCarthy and Stone's plan for 54 dwellings would require 84 parking spaces. We would also want commitment from McCarthy and Stone to offer 40% of the 54 dwellings as affordable housing.

Stone Water Housing, owners of the eastern part of the site, tabled their preferred option to expand the offer of the Firs development but no plan has come forward so we cannot comment on this. However, the new Firs site proposes access via Maxstoke Lane already coping with car traffic from the 87 Meriden Gate homes, the current Firs site and homes along Maxstoke Lane and from Maxstoke Close. It may be better to propose vehicle access from Maxstoke Lane to the northwest or Birmingham Road. The old Maxstoke Lane has a narrow footpath with houses on either side; this is a walk to the shops from the Firs, (older people). A pedestrian crossing should be a condition of development across Fillongley Road by Maxstoke Lane across to the shops.

The site landowner with the smallest parcel on the site is currently not interested in investing in consultant/design fees for the site until it was formally allocated in the Local Plan.

We remind you that in November 2017 we wrote to your planning department to red-flag our concerns that a comprehensive and collaborative approach between land owners could be lacking at site 10 and as a parish council, we would expect and insist that only a comprehensive and collaborative approach be taken on this site and we will not support 'piecemeal' applications. We trust that we can work together to ensure the right outcomes for site 10.

We gratefully acknowledge that Solihull Council has considered our comments on your Draft Local Plan made back in 2017 and the evidence which features in the Meriden Parish Plan (2009), Meriden Parish Design Statement (2011), Meriden Parish Council's straw poll results to the Call for Sites and the Meriden Neighbourhood Plan Survey 2016. You should now also consider the results of our Housing Needs Survey published in 2018 and adopted by Meriden Parish Council in January 2019.

This encourages us to believe that you agree with our comments made in 2017 that infrastructure issues remain: transport, traffic, schools, GP access, Post Office, banks. The primary school is limited in space already and the GP surgery is at capacity and further residents in Meriden will add to that pressure. Access to social amenities within the community is a requirement for the growing older population, but local transport facilities continue to dwindle, loss of Taxi Bus Ring and Ride and the current potential threat to the 89 service/Blue Bus which replaced it.

Continued quarry expansion will increase quarry lorry movements that presently stand at 732 PER DAY.

These figures do not include the haulage routes to Mancetter Quarry North Warwickshire, use of Fillongley Road serving DeMulders, Brailes Farm and Heart of England Show Ground. Additional HGVs access Berkswell Road via the Village Centre to Home Farm Container Storage and Pettifors. All these additional road networks are not covered by the Meriden Quarry Routing Agreements.

Further threats to Meriden Gap and Green Belt comprise possible HS2 Bridge across Meriden Road, Motorway Service Area, M42 junction 6, potential new developments in Hampton in Arden, Balsall Common and Eastern Green, all of which will increase traffic, noise, dust and pollution.

With increasing traffic, it is a must that a turning circle be installed possibly at Strawberry Fields junction as there is no turning facility anywhere in the Village. With the increased HGV use of Berkswell Road to commercial businesses sited in Berkswell, a pedestrian footpath should be installed between Heart of England Club and Berryfields.