Campaigners hand over petition in fight to save meadowland near Stourbridge from developers
Campaigners hoping to save Corbett Meadow in Stourbridge from development have submitted a 2,000-plus name petition to the hospital trust that wants to sell it off for housing.
The Save the Corbett Meadow Action Group handed over a petition with 2,078 signatures at today’s board meeting of the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust urging hospital bosses to rethink its plan to develop the site, to the rear of Corbett Outpatient Centre in Amblecote.
The campaigners have been gathering signatures and trying to raise awareness of the threat facing the meadow, which is a haven for wildlife and the last parcel of undeveloped land in Amblecote.
They have stepped up their public awareness fight after the hospital trust and its development partner Charles Church made submissions to the Dudley Local Plan - expressing a continued desire to develop the land, off Vicarage Road, and objecting to proposals to designate it as a Local Green Space which would give it greater protection from development.
The land was gifted to the people of Stourbridge in 1893 by benefactor John Corbett, along with the land the outpatient centre sits on, for the benefit of their wellbeing.
It had been part of John Corbett’s Hill estate where the original Corbett Hospital was built and it fell into NHS ownership with the creation of the National Health Service in 1948.
The Dudley Group, which runs Russells Hall Hospital, plus Corbett the Guest Outpatient Centres, is now responsible for the site which has been leased for grazing and tended by hobbyist farmers for the last 40 years.
The action group’s petition aims to highlight the threat to John Corbett’s legacy and show the strong support for the meadow to be preserved as a special urban green space which boosts the well-being of local people.
Campaigner Helen Cook and the great, great, great grand niece of John Corbett handed the petition over to Sir David Nicholson, chairman of the board of directors, at the Thursday September 11 board meeting at Russells Hall Hospital in Dudley.
A spokesperson for the action group said: “Sir David received our petition courteously and he and his board will, we trust, give our requests careful consideration and look at options over the long term and not just focus on gaining a one off capital receipt.
“They will also have to take seriously the moral and ethical issues they need to address as the current guardians of John Corbett’s legacy and be content that they are they are doing the right thing by the people of Stourbridge and its surrounding area.”
The Dudley Group has said NHS guidance requires surplus assets, such as land, to be disposed of and funds reinvested into patient care.
Diane Wake, chief executive of the hospital trust, said: "The NHS faces significant financial challenges, and we are under a duty to make the best use of our resources and public money.
"NHS guidance sets out our requirements to dispose of any surplus assets and as such we are seeking to sell the parcel of land we own at the rear of Corbett Outpatient Centre. Any income received would be used to ensure delivery of patient care for local people.
"The trust has entered an agreement to allow the purchase of the land with a housing developer and any future planning application from developers would be subject to the process of approvals, which include the opportunity for public views to be expressed."
Charles Church, part of Persimmon Homes, which submitted an unsuccessful plan in 2022-23 to build 84 homes on the site, has said its interest in the meadow reflects its aim to deliver new homes and meet local demand for housing and that any proposals brought forward would go through the formal planning system with residents given the opportunity to comment.
