Four new sites added to council’s housing plan in Walsall
Four new sites have been added to the plan resulting in an addition of 319 homes.
Cabinet members are set to approve the latest draft of the Walsall Borough Local Plan next week.
The document acts as a blueprint for prospective developers looking to build homes and employment spaces.
All councils must have a local plan in place or risk losing control to central government over which developments can be approved or refused.
The government has tasked the council with allocating sites for 21,026 homes over the next 20 years.
The first draft of the local plan was prepared last year by the then-Conservative administration.
Reform has since prepared a new draft plan which will see a reduction in 2117 homes allocated to developers.
With the current plan, only 14,943 homes are allocated creating a shortfall of 6,083.
Several sites have been removed, including 1,000 homes at Stencills Farm off Mellish Road, 1,070 homes at Black Cock Farm in Brownhills, and 155 at Harpur Close in Rushall.
Also removed are 177 homes on Odell Road Playing Fields in Bloxwich and 94 homes at Reedswood Park woodland.
Stencills Farm, which received the tenth highest number of objections in the first draft plan, was removed due to its proximity to Calderfields on the other side of Mellish Road where 1,000 homes have been allocated.
The council said the sites together would overwhelm local infrastructure and Stencills Farm wasn’t identified as grey belt.
The allocation of Black Cock Farm, which received the fourth highest number of complaints, was removed due to drainage, the nearby conservation sites and that it was not identified as grey belt.
Harpus close was removed following an objection from Historic England on the impact of the Old Rushall Conservation Area and also not identified as grey belt.
Odell Road was removed due to loss of area of open space and was deemed likely to have poor ground conditions.
Reedswood Park woodland, formerly the power station, was removed subject to the outcome of the current planning application for a 1,000-place free school.
Four new sites have been added to the plan resulting in an addition of 319 homes.
They are 135 homes on land off Skip Lane, 55 off Northfields Way in Clayhangar, 52 homes on land west of Clayhangar Lane and 77 homes on a site off Pool View in Rushall.
The report also states that densification of certain sites could increase the number of homes across the borough.
It says up to 1,100 homes could be squeezed into sites within urban areas mainly in and around Walsall, Willenhall and Bloxwich centres, up to 3,100 more could fit into existing grey belt sites and 5,300 could be added to green belt sites.
Cabinet members will meet on Wednesday, August 26, to approve the latest draft before a six week public consultation opens on September 14.
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