Object

Representation ID: 14021

Received: 01/11/2021

Respondent: Miss Louise Daykin

I would like to lodge my formal objection against Policy WSA9/ strategic allocation WSA 9, the proposed development of the land to the east of Chester Road, north of Pacific garden Centre, Hardwick, Streetly. The proposed development is for 415 houses to be build on this site. I have a number of points of objection:
1- This site falls on green belt land, Walsall Councils development policy/ SAD (adopted in 2019 and published on the website) states that green belt will be protected and that building will not be permitted unless there are exceptional circumstances, of which there are non. The development of Greenbelt land is also in contravention of the 'brownfield first' objective of the Walsall Site Allocation Document (section 2.1). There are ample brownfill sites in the borough where development could take place.
Excert (section 7.2):
The Green Belt forms an important component of the Boroughs environmental network,
providing for the continued role of agriculture and maintaining a rural character, particularly
in the areas surrounding Aldridge and Pelsall. The defining characteristics and functions of
the Green Belt will continue to be safeguarded as part of the wider West Midlands Green Belt.
Most types of development, except for a limited list as set out in the NPPF, are inappropriate in the Green Belt. SAD Policy GB1 will be used to control development that is not
inappropriate and where controls are not available under other policies in the development plan, as well as in the NPPF itself.
2- The local infrastructure will be unable to cope with the significant rise in residents. The Chester Road is already extremely congested and the addition of hundreds of new residents and drivers will significantly increase this and the associated danger. An additional junction where hundreds of additional drivers join the Chester Road will be very dangerous. The increased traffic will also significantly reduce air quality, and therefore the health and safety of residents.
3- There are insuffucient schools and medical facilities to support the increase in residents. GP provision is already stretched and the addition of so many new residents will increase this pressure further and again put the health and safety of residents at risk.
4- The proposal talks of affordable housing, an average new development for a detached house in the area is circa 1 million pounds. Therefore, even with a smaller house with a lesser price, I fail to see how an argument can be made that this will meet the proposed objective of affordable housing.