Dudley to pay extra £500,000 for own version of major housing plan it withdrew from
Dudley's chiefs will need to pay out up to £500,000 to develop their own housing proposals after exiting the controversial Black Country Plan last month, it has been revealed.
Councillor Patrick Harley, who leads the authority, said he wasn't prepared to sacrifice green belt land to keep others "happy" as he pulled the plug on the major scheme.
It led to council leaders from Walsall, Sandwell and Wolverhampton criticising the decision – with chiefs declaring their intent to recover their costs from Dudley Council.
Now it has emerged the borough itself will need to pay out an estimated £500,000 over three financial years – between 2023/2024 to 2025/2026 – to develop its own plan.
Councillor Harley told the Express & Star the cost will be split over three years and funding – potentially from reserves our elsewhere – would be put aside to meet the figure.
Wolverhampton has said its anticipated plan budget will be around £290,000, with Walsall chiefs saying they were working on the cost. It is not known how much Sandwell will spend.
A document, said to be discussed by Dudley cabinet members next week, said: "If it is agreed to commence work on a borough local plan, officers will need to revisit the Local Development Scheme (LDS) and review some of the existing evidence base before commencing work on a plan.
"Producing our own plan will require additional financial resources amounting up to £500,000 over the period 2023-2026 and these costs will need to be reflected in the medium-term financial strategy."
Councillor Harley withdrew from the scheme – which identified a need to build around 76,000 homes in the Black Country by 2039 with over 7,700 on green belt land – over sites in Dudley being included.
He explained that the borough could "just about" meet its own housing need without encroaching onto the green belt, and the authority had a duty to listen to residents opposed to the scheme.
Sites which could have been swallowed up under the original plans include around 533 homes at The Triangle on Swindon Road and a further 330 on land south of Holbeache Lane, both in Kingswinford.
Leaders at the authority will discuss the decision to withdraw and proceed with another plan on November 14.
