Green belt land in Walsall will become 'sacrificial lamb at the altar' of housing developers

Walsall Labour leader Aftab Nawaz and his deputy Khizar Hussain put forward a notice of motion calling for cabinet chiefs to review sites put forward as part of the Black Country Plan and consider removing them.

Under the draft plan, it is proposed Walsall provides enough land to build 13,344 new houses up to 2039, with 5,418 of those on sites currently classed as Green Belt.

Councillor Nawaz said the loss of sites including Calderfields Farm next to Walsall Arboretum and land at York’s Bridge would be a “disaster” for people.

But, at a full council meeting on Monday, authority leader Mike Bird successfully submitted an amendment to the motion saying they will follow the statutory process.

He added it was “disingenuous” to tell residents the council had the power to remove sites from the plan when it doesn’t.

Councillor Nawaz said: “The green belt is an invaluable asset to the people of Walsall. To lose it would be a disaster for our borough and our children’s heritage and we should do all we possibly can to protect it.

“Many of our constituents have raised concerns, Many have pleaded with us to stop the development on green belt land.

“I know members across the chamber also value green belt land. (It) is an emotive subject. There are many concerns about the plan and the way the sites have been put in.

“First of all it’s the premise of the plan that this is to create more and more housing.

“If you look at some of those sites, for example Calderfields, the last planning application which came there was several large houses that would have barely touched the needs of housing in the borough.

“They were executive houses worth a couple of million with a great view over the Arboretum.

“So the premise this is going to create many houses in the green belt is in my view false. Rich people will want big houses with great views.

“Everybody values the green belt. The people who will not respect the green belt are developers.

“Developers will not respect the heritage we have in Walsall, they will not respect the places we have and we must be careful that we do not work for the developers rather than working for our residents.

“People will never forgive us for making the green belt the sacrificial lamb at the altar of developers.”

Councillor Bird said he questions the projections used by civil servants to predict housing needs in Walsall and believed they were too high.

He also said the council’s current ‘brownfield first’ policy remains in place.

Councillor Bird said: “It would be disingenuous for me to tell the public that we have the power to take out any site at any time. That is not true. Only the land owner can withdraw a site.

“It is fair to say there are contentious sites. There are 200 sites that have been viewed in Walsall and every one of those has gone through the same evaluation process.

“This council stands by a brownfield first policy. That continues to be the case.

“There is a statutory process. We have to evaluate every site by way of ecology, highways, flood plains, we do not have an input into that.

“I don’t believe the algorithm used to allocate the housing requirement is correct. I don’t believe the amount of houses are required. I’m looking to protect as much of our green belt as possible.

“We will look at all the things put on the table and then decide whether that evaluation has convinced me and cabinet members that these sites can be supported.

“That will go from this council to inspectors who will then decide on the whole of the Black Country. But be aware, if you take a site out it can be imposed upon you.

“It is a Black Country Plan, not a Walsall Plan. It is the rules laid down by the inspectorate and central government. These are statistics civil servants have said, this amount of housing is required.

“Whilst there are people who want to criticise me, we are powerless to do anything except what is required by law.

“I’ve still to be convinced that all these houses are required and I firmly believe that every brownfield site we can build on safeguards those blades of grass. I will not sway away from that.”