Object

Representation ID: 17951

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Mr Matthew Rooney

Objections are as follows: Local Authority Area: Walsall Borough Site Name: Sutton Road/Longwood Lane

1. The additional housing will cause a direct increase on an already congested and polluted road system. Even if enhancements are made to traffic management, resulting congestion is likely to be significant. The junction surrounding Longwood lane is already a bottleneck.
2. Regarding the proposed development of 442 houses at Calderfields. Reducing green space while simultaneously increasing in population will strain local infrastructure and, alter the nature of the neighbourhood for good. Up to this point, when travelling from Walsall in the direction of Streetly/Aldridge, the presence of green space provides welcome relief from the surrounding and over developed areas. Head towards Wednesbury/Wolverhampton or Birmingham for countless examples of over development. Socially and visually, the result of overdevelopment is predicatble and undesirable.

As a general observation, it appears that planners are adopting a short term perspective. i.e. How can we achieve the max no. of houses at the lowest cost. Ignoring the effects on existing residents, while showing disregard for the needs of future residents.
Walsall has experienced a steady decline over the last 20 years. The death of the high street and industry do offer one opportunity, that is, an abundance of brown field sites. Obviously, developing brownfield sites is neither cheap or easy. That said, there comes a point where we need to think holistically. Redeveloping existing sites will improve the area and protect remaining green space.