Apologies for the late response to the petition. The matters raised in the petition, namely the concerns around increased traffic congestion on Erdington Road; pollution arising from new development to the rear of existing properties; and the decision of Planning Committee to approve the application despite a recommendation approved by Committee formed part of the consideration of Planning Application 16/1153. Each of these matters is addressed below. Through the consideration of this Planning Application, the Council considered the impact that the development may have on the highway network, arising from the increase in properties on the site from the three additional dwellings (1 demolished and 4 new homes built) was not of a level to sustain a refusal of the application at an appeal With regard to the concerns around noise and disturbance arising from the proximity of the development, it was assessed through the consideration of the Planning Application that the impacts arising from the development would not be at such a level, that there would be conflict with adopted policies relating to environmental impact. Although the recommendation of officers was to refuse, Planning Committee can reach a different decision depending on the weight they feel appropriate to give to each material planning consideration and in this case, the view of the Committee was to approve the development. With regard to the separation distance between the proposed buildings and the existing properties in Hayfield Grove, the building to building distance is just in excess of the 13.0 metre distance set out in Annex D of the Council’s adopted Design Guide. Whilst the Council is mindful of the public interest in this Planning Application and the concerns raised, these have been considered in the context of adopted policies, and the level of harm arising from the development was not considered a significant level to justify withholding planning permission in line with the advice in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF).