BASE HEADER

Yes

ID sylw: 92561

Derbyniwyd: 28/02/2025

Ymatebydd: Mr Phillip Johnson

Specific comments related to area Ref ID 159 Hatton Green

I DO NOT SUPPORT THIS PROPOSAL

It is not clear why this land is now proposed for development other than it is convenient for the Council to try to increase the size of the Site B1 Hatton proposed development.

This area of land has been submitted, and rejected outright, during several previous calls for sites over recent years. The site was rejected principally owing to road access and safety concerns and owing to the fact that it would totally envelop the Church and Graveyard at Hatton.

The HELAA methodology used to try to justify this proposal is flawed, highly subjective and the analysis is totally unsound. The analysis gives an entirely different score to the adjacent land area in Site B1. It completely ignores road access, current traffic volumes and safety issues. (HELAA gives a Viability and Delivery constraint score of zero !!) It downplays the impact on greenbelt and the ecology of the area. It completely ignores the ancient church, its monuments and graveyard, which any new development would completely envelop, and it completely ignores the current oversubscribed nature of the local primary school. There are no public transport services in the area (HELAA gives a Transport Assessment constraint score of zero !!). There are no local services at all (HELAA gives an Accessibility to Local Services constraint score of 0.5 !!). The land proposed for development is in constant agricultural use; yet HELAA assigns only a score of 0.5.

In more detail: this site is unsuitable for development for the following reasons:

Access to the site is very restricted. Birmingham Road A4177 is very busy at peak times and there are often traffic queues that stretch from the A46 at Stanks Island right up to Hatton Green. Traffic on the Hockley Heath Road is often backed up in queues beyond Dark Lane at peak times. Hatton Green is highly congested for most of the day due to school traffic and inconsiderate parking.

There have been a number of accidents at the junction of the A4177 and Hockley Heath Road, the most recent of these was last week. There have been a number of accidents on the junction between Hockley Heath Road and Hatton Green. There have been a number of accidents on the junction between Birmingham Road and Hatton Green. Steps were taken by WCC to apply new road markings at the top end of Hatton Green which have helped greatly in reducing problems but there are still times when inconsiderate parking obstructs the school buses and
creates potentially dangerous situations.

The junction between the Birmingham Road and Hockley Heath road is potentially dangerous owing to restricted vision on the junction due to its layout and the excessive speed of many road users, especially at peak times.

Adding potentially 400 or more car and delivery vehicle entry/exits to Site 159 each day will significantly worsen current traffic congestion and safety issues.

Many of these issues are well known to WDC. Some minor accidents have not involved Ambulances or the Police so will be unknown to WDC.

Access onto the Birmingham Road is highly restricted since there is only a short distance between the Church and Hatton Green. Traffic on this section of road travels well above the speed limit but there seems to be no resources available to police the situation.

There is no spare capacity at Ferncumbe Primary school for additional children. This same problem has existed for years. The school buildings have been expanded to their maximum extent but there is still insufficient capacity in the school assembly hall for school events and for lunchtime dining.

The proposed site is in the Green Belt and is productive agricultural land. It is in continuous use for growing crops. The NPPF states that Greenbelt should only be used where there are no other alternatives or where special circumstances exist. There are no special circumstances that justify this development considering that there are other non-Greenbelt sites available.

There are many other non-Greenbelt sites in the area which could be used to accommodate the 200 new homes proposed. Indeed, there is a similar size area of land to the immediate south of the B4439 Hockley Road and West of the Hatton arms that is contiguous with the rest of the New Hatton Settlement and could easily be compulsorily purchased.

There is significant local wildlife including badgers, foxes, hedgehogs, Muntjack deer and many bird species including Red Kites, Woodpeckers, ducks, pheasants, finches, Blue Tits, Tree Creepers, Sparrows etc.

The open space around the Church is an integral feature of the village around Hatton Green and is enjoyed by all local residents. Many local houses were built in the early 1800’s. Any significant developments around the Church would destroy the character of the village.