Labour urges public to give views on Black Country Plan

Vast swathes of green belt land are currently under threat as part of the proposals that have been put forward but the Conservative-run Dudley Council.

The plans would see 3,154 new houses built in Brierley Hill with developments taking place up until 2039.

A further 2,662 houses would be built in the town of Dudley and its surrounding areas, with 860 in Kingswinford.

Over all, a total 13,235 houses have been earmarked for the Black Country area, while 22 hectares of land would be made available under the current plans.

The Labour group is particularly concerned about the amount of green belt land that has been earmarked for development and is opposing the plans in their current form.

Greenfield sites earmarked for housing include 175 homes on land south of Holbeache Lane and Wolverhampton Road in Kingswinford, with 253 homes planned for land at at Swindon Road, Wall Heath, Kingswinford (The Triangle Site); 25 homes in Lower Guys Lane, Lower Gornal; 50 on Ketley Quarry, Ketley Farm and 312 in Dudley Road, Kingswinford; 10 in Worcester Lane North, Stourbridge; 45 in Worcester Lane Central, Stourbridge; 60 in Worcester Lane South, Stourbridge; 70 in Grazing Land Wollaston Farm, Wollaston, Stourbridge; 24 in Viewfield Crescent, Dudley; 15 in Corbyns Hall Open Space, Severn Drive, Pensnett; 15 in Summit Place, Gornal Wood; 23 in The Straits, Lower Gornal; 44 at land rear of Salcombe Grove, Coseley; 38 in Lewis Road, Lye; 45 in Lapwood Avenue, Kingswinford; four in Seymour Road, Wollescote; seven in Bent Street, Brierley Hill; 115 in Bryce Road, Pensnett; and 38 on land adjacent to Pear Tree Lane, Coseley.

The deadline for all public responses is 5pm on October 11.

Residents can also respond to the plans by emailing their views to blackcountryplan@dudley.gov.uk – and all comments, along with published answers, will be included once the consultation has closed.

Emails must include a name, address, contact information such as a phone number or email address, whether the respondent is a resident or represents an organisation, the title of the document – such as the draft plan or the sustainability appraisal – and which part the respondent is commenting on, such as the policy, site name or site allocation reference.

Emailed responses must also contain a general comment, if it is support or against the plans, and the actual comment itself.

Jan Norton, chairwoman of the Dudley South CLP, said: “The Labour group would like to praise the outstanding work of all the community groups in challenging these proposals.

"It’s important to keep the responses simple and for answers to be written clearly.

“Members of the public are also urged to say what the area has meant and means to them and how the proposals might impact on them, through the loss of green belt, the impact of their quality of life, how the plans could affect traffic and transport, the extra pressures on local facilities, the destruction of local environment, the importance of keeping greenfield spaces locally and any accompanying legislation.”

Wall Heath as One will be hosting meetings, which are open to the public, at the Wall Heath Community Centre on Monday, September 13, from 10am to 11am, and Saturday, September 25, from 10am to noon.

Further meetings are being held at Mark’s Church, in Vicarage Road, Pensnett, from 6pm, hosted by Conservative Councillors Rebbekah Collins and Sue Greenaway, while Friends of Ridgehill Woods and Wall Heath as One will welcome Dudley South MP Mike Wood, borough councillors and planning officers to meeting at Summerhill School, from 7pm, on Thursday, September 16, for residents living in Wordsley, Kingswinford and Wall Heath areas.

The plan can be viewed at https://blackcountryplan.dudley.gov.uk/t2/p5 while response forms are also available in local libraries.

Copies of the Black Country Plan can be requested by calling 01384 814136.