Object

Representation ID: 10747

Received: 02/09/2021

Respondent: Mrs Julie Platt

Dear Sir/Madam
I object and wish to lobby against the massive urban extension planned for Essington (Bloxwich/Newtown), in regards to loss of green belt that our conservative government manifesto promised to protect.
Plus, generally lobby all other sites across South Staffs that have green belt land proposals.
As for the Essington parish massive development Bloxwich/Newtown proposal, i would raise the objection that it is such a small parish that is unable to offer employment or could support a new community of the proposed scale within it, especially when brownfield sites are available across South Staffs area that have not been built on or, considered for developed. Other points to consider:
. A34 Stafford Road to Walsall Road already is not fit for purpose with the traffic usage already in situa. The road is also a filter or cut through for excess traffic from the M6 in the event of an issue e.g accidents. This leads to grid lock, jams, congestion which is already quite often.
> . Most towns are looking at pollution levels and reducing speed clean air policy, it would seem we are considering REDUCING the air quality with the numbers of houses and cars planned for this development. Most households have a least one car, however then looking at partners and older children this can quadruple.
. Most brownfield sites at one point had working factories units, buildings and already have the roads and infrastructure in situa.
. Flooding, building on green belt in Newtown/Bloxwich and South Staffs in general is taking away our drainage fields. The North Walsall cemetery is heartbreaking as most of the baby and adult graves have flooded as more development and concrete covers our pastures.

My garden floods with the fields already so covering even more green belt with concrete the water will have no other route but to engulf what is around it, our properties.
. Gas pipes and amenities, are old and often have blocked or leak along the Stafford Road. Newtown (just my house) has had gas repairs 6 month - yearly . We have been told year after year the pipes are lead and old, like the sewerage systems and cannot cope with the houses already here. Once a repair or cap is done it put pressures further up the road and it repeats itself time and time again. Which then adds to the traffic congestion issue when they close part of the road down for repairs. Cars backed up from one end of Cannock Orbital to Bloxwich Walsall etc. That is without the motorway issue traffic and all of the above issues already sited. It is already at breaking point and days of total gridlock without adding another 2000-3000 houses?
. COVID - we have seen this disease ravish inner city areas, high density populated areas. Are we taking into account that COVID has happened, it is still with us or that another disease could evolve which prays on highly populated areas? Our green belt allows all our surrounding areas a little bit of breathing space to walk past and have a little bit of country walks after a hard days work. Would we consider building on Hyde Park? Has every bit of grass got to go, why is it named green belt meaning:-
“an area of open land around a city, on which building is restricted.”

Why have I even got to contest, lobby or object? Green belt is green belt.

Brownfield sites to be developed and refuse the plans for development on our bit of green belt that we have left as once it’s gone it’s gone.

Kind Regards Mrs Platt