BASE HEADER

No

ID sylw: 106048

Derbyniwyd: 19/02/2025

Ymatebydd: Gail Smith

1. Developing this piece of land would greatly diminish the area of green belt that separates Sambourne and Studley. This would be an irretrievable blight on the local landscape. Middletown would quickly lose its identity if the development was to proceed and it would destroy the local environment enjoyed by all Studley residents and all those who make use of the access to countryside walking routes.
2. Development would have a major negative impact on wildlife by replacing green fields with a sprawl of urban building. This would radically change the nature of the area and have a negative impact on the way of life for all existing residents.
3. The Land SG22 is bordered by Middletown Lane and Jill Lane (Both are small B roads that are not easy to access at peak times) and the A448 Node Hill. The B roads are insufficiently big to enable pedestrian pathways or cycle paths. As a result, vehicles, cyclists and pedestrians have to share the same roads. It is currently extremely busy during week day peak times 8am to 9am and 3pm till 5pm. It is highly likely that the area would become gridlocked if more traffic was forced along these routes as a result of the proposed development. The risks to pedestrians and cyclists would be further escalated by the increased traffic volumes.
4. The A448 is currently designated as an official route to be used by The Redditch Eastern Gateway. The development of SG22 would have a significant impact on the traffic volumes onto the A448 and create significant disruption to existing traffic flows.
5. The crossroads at the junction of Middletown lane and the A448 becomes very busy at peak flow times and the extra traffic volume resulting from the development will require an investigation on how best to minimise the risks of accidents at this point. It should be noted that this is a key crossing point for children walking to Studley schools.
6. The plot of land SG22, is currently used to grow food crops. Removing this ability to ‘grow our own’ will place further pressure on the import of food from overseas. Land would be best retained in order to maintain independence and control of our own destiny.
7. From an environmental angle residents would be exposed to much higher levels of air pollution, noise pollution and light pollution. (currently there are no street lights along the two narrow B roads that straddle the proposed development area). The proposal would fundamentally change the area from being rural to urban and call for significant investment in infrastructure and road safety measures
8. Middletown Lane is subject to a degree of flooding issues The proposed area slopes down towards Middletown Lane. A build up of housing would greatly increase the risk of flooding on the roads and existing properties as water waste would naturally flow down towards the existing properties. Major drainage infrastructure changes would be required to avoid flooding issues.
9. The proposed development land is green belt agricultural land. Options that do not destroy green areas should be prioritised ahead of such land. Loss of valuable habitat for many species should be avoided when there are other options available.
10. The existing facilities and services within Studley and Coughton would come under significantly increased pressure to support the additional population needs. For example, schools and medical centres. It is difficult to visualize the increased demand being absorbed by the current facilities when personal experience indicates that they are already under severe pressure to cope with existing demand.
11. Any proposal must take into consideration the wider impact on the community that is Studley such as a new medical centre, recreational facilities, protecting public footpaths, public transport needs and protecting wildlife.