Support

Representation ID: 45831

Received: 12/03/2022

Respondent: Nicola Richards

Number of people: 1067

Peak House Farm and surrounding area

• I support the omission of Peak House Farm , Wilderness Woods, and the Aston Uni Rec Ground
from the Draft Plan. These sites were put fo1w ard during the Call for Sites process, and I am pleased that thorough investigations have demonstrated the requirement to protect these sites from development.
• The development of these sites would have had an unacceptable impact on the surrounding area,
contravening several key principles of the Green Belt set out in National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).

• Should these sites have been allocated, it would, along with neighbouring site allocations on the Walsall side of the borough boundary, merged two separate settlements in Great Barr and Walsall, compromising the community identity of these distinct areas.
• It would also have represented an unacceptable harm to existing Sites of Local Importance to Nature Conservation (SLINC), which support a wide range of flora and wildlife. They form part of an important wildlife corridor within the Black Country.
• The necessary infrastructure for the large-scale development set out in the Call for Sites
would have had a significant disruptive impact on the wider area. Traffic congestion in the Great
Barr area is a cause for concern on both a transport and health basis on residential roads, the arterial network and the motorway.
• Significant pressure from large scale developments would also be placed on education and health service infrastructure in the Great Barr area.
• There is significant public support for the retention of these sites as Green Belt. This can be demonstrated by a campaign during the Ca ll for Sites process which attracted the support of thousands of local residents.