Land needed for 20,000 more homes in West Midlands
LAND for around 20,000 homes in the West Midlands will need to be found over the next two decades, it has been revealed.
Tens of thousands of homes need to be built across the region by 2036 to keep up with the rising population, with housing chiefs tasked with finding space for them to be built.
The Black Country Local Enterprise Partnership revealed there was currently a gap of up to 22,000 homes where land needs to be identified for them.
Another 740 acres300 hectares of land – more than three times the size of the i54 plant in Wolverhampton – needs to be found for employment as part of the Black Country Core Strategy, which aims to set out where homes and jobs can be created in the coming years.
Ambitious
Ian Culley, from Wolverhampton Council, told the latest LEP meeting: “There is a gap so we need to find land for housing. The gap is around 20 to 22,000 homes.
“The gap on employment land is 740 acres300 hectares of additional land. The i54 is around 222 acres90 hectares so that gives you some idea of what we still need to find.”
Housing chiefs have been tasked with finding locations for 78,000 homes over the next 20 years but already have sites in mind for around three quarters of that total.
Several major housing developments are in the pipeline for the Black Country over the next few years.
They include ambitious proposals to create a garden city at Dudley Port in Tipton, which would see four disused sites brought back to life. Another 900 homes are planned for the former Coseley Eco Park site.
