I am pretty sure a formal planning application will follow; the representatives at the exhibition mentioned that to me when I stated my opposition. I think that a local meeting is not really neccessary until we have more information; we need to know thje precise nature of the application.

As several people have mentioned, there is capacity in Dickens Heath right now, but the local plan takes into account the needs for the next 15 years AND our (draft) local does this. This is a rouge application and they know it. I am sure it will be refused locally.

My letter arrived like every one else’s I guess, a week prior to the so called “consultation” meeting and caught me completely cold. I contacted the Chair of our elected Parish Council to seek his advice only to be told that this was the first he knew of this meeting or development! This is the first disservice Pegasus has done Tidbury Green I.e. by not communicating with our elected body. Their intention is clearly to rail road the submission through!

When I challenged Pegasus’s personnel on this issue I was firstly told that the LPC were aware and when I pressed with the facts that they were not, they then implied that due to the local elections they were not sure who would be elected so they thought it better to have their consultation first so that they would have a more informative meeting with both the LPC and Ward councillors.

I asked “as no one could predict the election outcome and as the elections were not actually a surprise why they had not decided to postpone the consultation meeting” The answer given was that they had already printed the leaflets and booked the hall!!

I then asked “when do Gallager intend to submit planning permission” The answer given by their Pegasus was possibly June although they did not know what level the planning application would be.

Pegasus were unable to answer my questions regarding how many houses were to be built also they were unable to answer what type of dwellings were proposed! When pushed and asked were they flats like Dickens Heath they stated “I should not think so, probably nice big ones like those already on Lowbrook Lane”

I had like most residents counted the house blocks on the plan and estimated around 100 homes and therefore possibly 200/300 cars using this single access point

I then spoke to their Transport consultant about my concerns, who clearly was not factually prepared for this meeting or indeed anticipated or understood the issues residents of TG may have with these proposals.
Her response was that” statistics show that the single entrance/exit was deemed to be more than adequate” I see Counsellor Hawkins believes the number of dwellings to be closer to 200/300, (400/600cars)!!

I stated that the only entrance and exit to the new village was very badly placed being relatively close to the bend and with an already manic traffic problem for a small village. Also that TG had become a rabbit run from Solihull and Dickens Heath to the M42. Her reply was that is why they were having the “consultation” so that villagers could educate the committee!

Furthermore she stated that she had asked for accident statistics from the police as well as a traffic survey commissioned by Pegasus for which she waited the results. Why did they not wait until they had the results of the necessary information before approaching the village community, I suggest the answer is in their rush to submit the planning application to Solihull prior to the LDP being finalised!! The Pegasus response to this whole issue was very blasé although she did say they could consider traffic calming or a mini roundabout!

Questioned on what the private road key meant I was informed that it was not actually a private road but a traffic calming system either with different coloured tarmac or raised paved areas like Dickens Heath. Clearly they have not visited Dickens Heath to look as the state of disrepair of these raised block roads!

Who has access to the planned local park? Gave the answer, well I guess the new village as well as existing TG residents. When asked how they would gain access I was told “isn’t there a local foot path for dog walkers at the bottom of the village” NO!

How about car access/parking for disabled local residents? Well we do not assume people would drive to this park it is more of a dog walking type park.

The issue that dismays me the most is that Residents I have spoken to believe that the outcome is a forgone conclusion and that Solihull will simply endorse the application, either this year or next. This is a sad indictment of our planning authority albeit probably true!

I could not quite make my mind up as to whether the Pegasus consultants were truly incompetent or whether they were cleverly providing misinformation saturated with vagueness! Just glad they do not work for me.

Grant.

I have looked on the Tidbury Green proposed building sites and I would guess that the suggested 200 new builds is being very economical with the truth, there is over 19 hectares to play with, and it is likely that 30 to 50 “units” per hectare would be considered, you would not need to be too much of a mathematician to even estimate that there could be double that amount in 5 years time.

This land is considered a buffer zone between any further development and the green belt, I thought. The extra traffic generated would be too much for the proposed access on Lowbrook Lane, it is already dangerous enough when there are cars parked alongside the narrow lane near the crossroads and there have been several bumps at the junction with Norton Lane at the other end. You can only imagine that at school times it would be similar to trying to access or exit the NEC car park when there is a popular exhibition on! There is hardly a regular bus service, nor any car parking at Wythall Station (yet!!), it would not be safe for children to walk or cycle to any of the local schools, even if the schools could cope with the influx.

The land is surely not suitable for such a development, what about the flooding issues ?
We are almost cut off by lanes being flooded after rainfall, the very name shows you that it is a wet area (Lowbrook ???). The peace and quiet which the residents are fiercely trying to protect, the wildlife disruption, and the sheer cost of making the land suitable to build on would make the whole project unviable, yet another get rich quick scheme for the already rich developers ?

As previous people have commented, there are still so many unsold properties on Dickens Heath Estate, just where are all these hypothetical people who will want to buy on Lowbrook Farm if they are not buying elsewhere ? This proposal is not needed and would destroy so much of our necessary and beautiful green space.