Plea for people to join battle to protect Dudley's green belt gems
A Black Country council leader has has reiterated his desire to see brownfield sites developed as a consultation on future housing plans draws closer.
Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Council, is urging people to get involved and help protect greenbelt land in the borough.
The consultation on the latest phase of the Black Country Plan will open on August 16 and the government projects that the Black Country will need around 76,000 new homes over the next 20 years.
To support this growth, it also needs 560 hectares of land to accommodate new jobs by 2039, or the equivalent to 835 football fields.
The upcoming consultation will give people the chance to have their say on the proposed sites for development and where they think new development should be in the Black Country.
Councillor Harley said: "Bringing brownfield sites back into use is our absolute priority when it comes to future development.
"Some of these sites may pose challenges to remediate land but we all have to be up for that challenge to help bring sites back into use and critically protect our greenbelt land.
"Decontamination and reclamation work can be an obstacle but this is where we all need to work with the government and with developers around how these costs are met to help support future development and bring land back into use.
"We have a proud industrial history across the Black Country but this does inevitably mean we have lots of brownfield land.
"We need the whole community, local councillors and MPs to come together on this and support proposals which are offering to remediate and decontaminate sites to help open them up as much needed sites for housing and employment use"
The draft Black Country plan outlines potential future developments across the Black Country and is now being consulted on by the four Black Country councils – Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton.
The plan aims to identify land for housing and employment purposes across the Black Country whilst continuing to protect green belt land from developers.
The consultation will run from August 16 to October 11.
To find out more, go to blackcountryplan.dudley.gov.uk/.
