Meeting with University of Wolverhampton

A planning application was made by the University of Wolverhampton for a car park on their campus near to Broadway. This is welcome to ease the parking issue on surrounding roads. However the Council insisted that planning permission for the car park would be conditional on having an entrance that would open onto Broadway, one of the busiest roads.  
Planning Permission has been granted for new entrance. Residents are understandably upset and at the meeting I asked the University to submit an amended Planning Application for a permanent car park but to remove plans for a new entrance whilst keep the three existing entrances open instead.

The residents of Broadway and I met with representatives of the University of Wolverhampton on the 19 February 2016 to discuss the University’s plans. The entrance would mean the installation of a second traffic light controlled junction within 50m of the junction with Magdalene Road and Walsall Golf Course.

My constituents who live on Broadway already have difficulty entering and leaving their driveways every day because of the speed and volume of traffic. The installation of a traffic light controlled junction immediately outside their homes will make this significantly more difficult and potentially have a negative effect on the value of their homes. The decision seems to have been made with little regard to the level of inconvenience this will cause.

At the meeting, my constituents and I explained to the representatives of the University the difficulties that are likely to be caused by the new junction. Previous complaints from residents of Broadway Park, where one of the current entrances to the campus is located, related to parking and this was resolved by the construction of the current temporary car park.

Residents have collected more than 500 signatures opposing the new entrance. I am pleased University representatives agreed to speak to the Council to come to a decision based on planning grounds as well as taking onto account the inconvenience and disruption to the residents of Broadway, road users and pedestrians.