Councillor Dave Hopkins on behalf of the Parish Council, along with Borough Councillors Jayne Greenaway and Raj Mehta attended the Planning Committee meeting last night (Wednesday 13th June) to speak against the DWH application to remove the requirement for the second access to the Doseley Pipeworks housing development.  Councillor Beryl Onions also was also in attendance at the meeting and there was a good representation of local residents present to show their support for the rejection of this unpopular proposal by DWH.  The robust and united presentation by local councillors was successful and the application was unanimously rejected by the Planning Committee. An excellent result!

Planning Committee 13^th June 2018.    Planning Application TWC/2016/0667  Dave Hopkins
* I’m Councillor Dave Hopkins,  Dawley Hamlets Parish Council
* I’m here to represent the residents who would be affected by this proposal. When I posted my own comments on the website on 31^st May there were already nearly 100 objections to this plan. It is very unpopular and rightly so.
* It’s simple.
The roads presently available to access the new development are semi-rural, winding and narrow. They lack footpaths, have houses along them and parked vehicles on them and are unsuitable, absolutely unsuitable, for the volume and type of traffic that would be forced onto them by this plan.
I have lived in this area for 40 years and brought up two children here. I know all these roads very well. They are used extensively by pedestrians, schoolchildren, parents with young children, buggies and pushchairs, elderly people and dog walkers.
In many places they have no choice but to walk in and across the roads.
They are the people you should be concerned about.
The existing residents of the new development have been misled by DWH and would have more traffic, difficult access and slower, more crowded and more hazardous roads on their journeys in and out, no matter how they are travelling.
The 2^nd access through Lightmoor is a road that is already in place and would be an ideal route in and out, linking the development quickly, effectively and most importantly, safely with the major roads.
The only people to benefit by this application would be David Wilson Homes and their good friends, Bournville Village Trust who I’m sure would increase their profits. I presume that DWH wouldn’t be offering to hand over £100k if it wasn’t in their interests. However, £100k won’t make roads wider, straighter, create parking spaces where there aren’t any, reduce the number of cars, move houses back from the side of the road or make significant changes to the quality of the lives of the local residents.
*And now Ladies and gentlemen of the Planning Committee, to you. (gesture to indicate Planning Committee members) On this occasion you are also here to represent the residents who would be affected by this proposal. Are you going to act in the interest of the residents or are you going to act in the interests of the developers?
The decision is yours. Thank you.