Having reviewed the site assessment for the land off Stratford Road and also comparing it to other rejected sites it is my opinion that this site is not suitable.
Firstly access to the site will be via a narrow farm track accessed from an already busy, and arguably hazardous, road junction in Longbridge Village. In order to make the farm track suitable I would expect the costs to be excessive if it were to be brought up to the standards expected for access of large vehicles and also emergency vehicles.
Secondly I live in the area and find the air quality poor due to my proximity to the Sewage Works and the cordon sanitaire around it. I actually live considerably further away than the proposed site meaning that the impact from the sewage works would be even greater in that location. I also find that the noise from the motorway disturbs my sleep even with the windows clsoed and our property is a new build with considerably better noise insulation than a mobile home. I am also confused as to why in Appendix 3 a blanket rejection of sites within the M40 corridor is made as they are "too noisy" but then you consider a specific site within the M40 corridor.
Thirdly the risk of flooding on a site so close to the River Avon must be considered in more depth especially when the impact from the amount of hardstanding that will be required on the site to house the pitches. The proximity to the river also then places young children at risk from drowning in the river itself.
Finally the effect on local economy. Tournament Fields has been an empty site for almost ten years and now that the local economy is starting to improve there is a greater chance that businesses will be interested in that land but the proximity to a G&T site will potentially damage that and leave Tournament Fields as an empty site at the gateway into our Town.
Other factors that I feel should also be commented on are why certain sites were suggested and rejected without being fully investigated e.g. land south of the A46 but north of the racecourse. The land off Posiden way was also rejected as it was a hot spot for unlawful G&T sites and the residents didn't tolerate them but that would be the same for any unlawful site. The Dobson Lane site was rejected as it is an allotment but surely that is council land that provides minimal income and in fact that could be relocated to an alternative site.