Mass house-building in the Shirley area would remove great swathes of green belt land and pile extra pressure on community services, residents have warned.

Almost 2,500 signatures have now been collected, supporting calls to remove Allocation 13 - an "essential" wedge of open space to the south of the Woodlands estate - from Solihull Council's Draft Local Plan .

Last Sunday, dozens of campaigners turned-out in the sunshine to take part in a walk across the fields, which they fear will make way for hundreds of new homes.

The South Solihull Community Group, the event organisers, have spearheaded efforts to strike the land from the proposed list of sites which would be earmarked for residential development.

They were joined on the day by the Green Party's co-leader Siân Berry , who gave her backing to the battle.

Residents prepare to set out on their walk. Front row (left to right) Shirley resident Sylvia Gardiner BEM, Cllr Andy Hodgson, Green Party co-leader Sian Berry, campaigner Shahin Ashraf MBE and Cllr Max McLoughlin.
Residents prepare to set out on their walk. Front row (left to right) Shirley resident Sylvia Gardiner BEM, Cllr Andy Hodgson, Green Party co-leader Sian Berry, campaigner Shahin Ashraf MBE and Cllr Max McLoughlin.

The local authority this week said that the comments received would be taken into account and a further consultation would be held in future.

Sylvia Gardiner, who has lived in the area for 30 years, said that the space was well-used by everyone from children to pensioners.

"It would be devastating if this goes. [The land] is a life-saver, it really is," she said.

"I actually think it's obscene to even consider taking this away from Shirley .

"My common sense hat would say it's a done deal, but my human side believes they will understand how important it is to people and they won't be able to sleep at night if they get rid of it.

"People are always over here, even in the rain and the snow, and it's fantastic. I'm over here every day and I'm not the only one."

Mark Davies, of nearby Loxley Avenue, described the proposals as "absolute madness" and argued that local services would not be able to cope with a dramatic increase in properties.

A group of residents and councillors prepare to take part in the walk organised by the South Solihull Community Group.
A group of residents and councillors prepare to take part in the walk organised by the South Solihull Community Group.

"There is not the room here for that number of extra people," he said.

The group were met on the day by Ms Berry, the new co-leader of the Greens, who expressed concern about the proposals.

"I can see that this choice, of this particular site is quite wrong actually," she said.

"We are seeing far too many bits of green belt being chosen over increasing the number of people who can live in cities, close to public transport.

"We don't need to see more sprawl, because that will lead to more traffic, it will lead to more people living in car-dependent homes ... there are other places to build homes that are better linked up with Birmingham and Solihull."

Allocation 13 was among four sites in the area previously earmarked for a total of more than 2,500 homes, although there are fears higher density development could push the number upwards.

Shirley residents are fighting to have "Allocation 13" removed from the Draft Local Plan.
Shirley residents are fighting to have "Allocation 13" removed from the Draft Local Plan.

Cllr Max McLoughlin (Green, Shirley South) argued that Shirley was on course to take a disproportionate amount of the housing on the horizon.

Earlier this month he presented the residents' latest petition to Full Council, citing concerns that further house-building could see Shirley and neighbouring Dickens Heath eventually merge.

“This is the wrong place," he said. "The plans for growth are around the impact of HS2 , but the house building is in the least accessible part of the borough to benefit HS2.

"It would take an hour at peak times to get from these houses to HS2. What’s worse is that this location doesn’t have sustainable travel in mind."

Solihull Council is continuing to work on its latest version of the Draft Local Plan, which will set the blueprint for future development in the borough into the 2030s.

Last month, Cllr Ian Courts, cabinet member for managed growth, had warned that public opposition alone would not be sufficient to alter proposals, unless it was backed up by solid planning grounds.

A Solihull Council spokesperson said: "Consultation on the Draft Local Plan finished in February 2017 and the council published a comprehensive summary of all representations that were received.

Shirley residents are battling to prevent development of land which they say is essential to the local community.
Shirley residents are battling to prevent development of land which they say is essential to the local community.

"The responses will be taken into account as the next version of the plan is prepared and published for further consultation.

"In preparing the next version of the plan, account will be taken of the potential impact proposed allocations may have on heritage assets and the availability and potential suitability of alternative sites."

The timescale for publication of the submission draft (for consultation) is now summer 2019. The council has said this will allow more time to take account of advice contained in the revised National Planning Policy Framework.

Allocation 13: The piece of land is one of the sites identified in the Draft Local Plan to help meet Solihull's housing need. The mix of fields, hedgerow and wooded areas stretches from Woods Farm, in the west, to the Miller and Carter in the east. Residents say it is a thriving wildlife habitat, with Muntjac deer living on the land, and a valuable asset to local people.