Conservatives in Dudley accuse Lib Dems of 'engineering a campaign' over field
A Conservative council leader has accused a Liberal Democrat supporter of "engineering a campaign" over the green belt to make his party appear more electable.
Ryan Priest, a campaigner for the Dudley, Stourbridge and Halesowen Liberal Democrats, had emailed Dudley Council leader Patrick Harley on February 23 to ask for support to give both Foxcote Field and Flint Field a ‘local green space designation’.
It comes after a campaign by the group attracted the support of over 650 people, who say proposals to build 1,200 homes on the fields in Cradley would destroy a site of “historical and environmental significance”.
The designation, Mr Priest claimed, will help save the fields from development.
He said: “Like many residents in Cradley, Wollescote, and the wider area, I was thrilled last year when the Black Country Plan confirmed our campaign was successful, and that the site would not be included.
“It is with horror I read that developers have submitted their objection to the site’s withdrawal.
“Local people spent years in limbo while we waited for the [Black Country Plan] consultation and publication, at times it felt as though the fate of our community was in everybody’s hands but our own.
“I am calling on you to give residents here long-term peace of mind. While developers continue to eye up the site, locals can never rest.”
But in an email Councillor Patrick Harley, who represents the Kingswinford South ward, told Mr Priest he is trying to “dupe the electorate with false or misleading information”.
The email stated: “A local green space designation is something that should be granted for green spaces that are demonstrably special to the local community that are not already covered by protected designations.
“A site within the green belt, that theoretically also has a local green space designation, has no greater protection than a green belt site itself.
“It is clear that you are engineering a campaign to make yourself look better to the electorate. You are in fact leading local residents 'up the garden path' to think that more needs to be done.
“In actual fact the council is already protecting the strongest possible designation for these sites, and we will defend that rigorously against all objections.
“This is not the only topic on which I have seen you demonstrate either at best a gross misunderstanding of the issue, or at worst attempting to dupe the electorate with false or misleading information.”
He claimed that a leaflet distributed by Mr Priest about proposals to Colley Gate was “plainly wrong” and said a planning application for the site had been submitted correctly, in line with legal requirements for Dudley council to exercise its compulsory purchase powers.
He added: “Your lack of understanding on these points demonstrates that you have no solutions for the issues that Cradley and Wollescote needs addressing. Instead, it appears as though you are focussed more on campaigns you can write leaflets about than actually getting results.”
Councillor Harley added: “Local residents in Cradley and Wollescote deserve representatives that are honest and open about the challenges the community faces and how to deal with them.
“Unfortunately, people like Ryan Priest seemingly only seek to exacerbate issues to gain electoral favour, rather than actually getting to grips with the issues and doing something about it. I note that he has not once proposed any workable solutions on either of the issues he has raised recently.
“My administration is completely focussed on delivering for the people of Cradley, Wollescote and the rest of the borough on the issues that matter most to them, such as protecting our beautiful countryside and regenerating our towns.”
When asked about the allegations, Mr Priest said: “This is clearly a rebuttal, because I believe Patrick Harley is worried about the momentum building up around the Liberal Democrats in Cradley, and indeed, across Dudley.
“There’s only so much you can do when you are not an elected councillor. In our own unelected capacity we managed to stop fields off Highland Road from becoming homes in June last year.
“Regarding the green space issue, this is just incorrect. What we have seen around the borough is that green belt legislation alone just simply isn’t enough.
“I’m asking the leader of the council to put party politics aside and give local residents the peace of mind they deserve.”
