Campaign launched against green belt homes plan for Wolverhampton
Campaigners have pledged to fight plans for 1,300 homes on 284 acres of green belt land in Wolverhampton.
The new development near Penn Common would stretch from Colton Hills Community School, the Beacon Centre in Sedgley, The Barley Mow Pub and Penn Golf Club.
There have been no formal planning applications made so far, but developers have been invite to submit proposals by Wolverhampton Council.
Around 100 people voiced their concerns at a public meeting in nearby Blakenhall hosted by Councillor Paul Birch.
He said: “There are 284 acres and you can build 12 houses on one acre. You do the maths – we are talking about 3,000 houses, although they say themselves only 1,300.”
The proposals have been made on behalf of Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes.
However the land, known as the Seven Cornfields, lies on the border of the Black Country, which is why it is included in the Black Country Core Strategy which includes Wolverhampton Council.
Petition
A petition against the plans launched by Liberal Democrat campaigner Nick Machnik-Foster was signed by more than 600 people within 12 hours of being published.
Mr Machnik-Foster said: "This site is well loved and should remain a green space.
"I'm urging everyone to sign this petition, share this petition and join the campaign to axe this development.
"It will turn the Dovedale Road into a new Birmingham New Road with the amount of traffic, as well as the added pressure on schools and GP practices.
"I cannot overstate this, the community is furious and we strongly oppose these plans. These plans need to be binned.
"Residents are saying - loudly and clearly - to the local councils we do not want this development. It will rob us of a valued green space. We all love the cornfields and this space must be protected."
Stuart Anderson, the prospective Conservative parliamentary candidate for Wolverhampton South West, said: “Once this is gone it cannot be replaced. It is greenfield site, it is beautiful.
"Wolverhampton has enough brownfield sites where we can build.
"We have got enough spaces to put that amount of houses around Wolverhampton.”
Matt Mills, of Ettingshall Park, added: “This is a very good site for wildlife. I have concerns that if the development does go ahead, it could mean Sedgley and Penn could be linked.”
The land, dubbed Pennwood, is just one of hundreds of sites around the Black Country, including some on green belt land, where developers have been invited to submit housing proposals.
This forms part of the Black Country Core Strategy - a review published by Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton councils in 2017 - which identified housing shortages in the Black Country
The review says 20,000 homes are needed in the Black Country by 2036.
