'The Triangle will remain green': MP says decision rules out plans to build 890 homes on green spaces in Dudley
A Black Country MP has spoken of his relief that a government inspector has backed plans to protect green spaces in his constituency.
Planning inspector Louise Nurser last week approved, in principle, Dudley Council's proposed 'brownfield only' planning strategy, which aimed to protect green field sites from future housing development.
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The news has been welcomed by Mike Wood, MP for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire, who said it would halt developer's plans to build on prime green paces in the Kingswinford and Wall Heath areas.
Mr Wood said the inspector's backing should effectively rule out the possibility of proposals to build 560 homes at a site known as The Triangle, between Lodge Lane, Kidderminster Road and Swindon Road in Kingswinford, and 330 homes between the Charterfields Estate in Kingswinford and Holbeach Lane in Wall Heath.
Mr Wood said the ruling vindicated council leader's controversial decision to withdraw from the joint 'Black Country Plan' that was being drawn up in partnership with Wolverhampton, Walsall and Sandwell councils, and to instead 'go it alone'.
However, Dudley Council's cabinet member for development, Councillor Simon Phipps, has warned that the battle was far from over, with the threat of government planning reform still spelling a real danger.
Mr Wood said: "I am delighted to hear that the national planning Inspector has upheld our proposals to protect Dudley's green belt.
"This means that green belt sites like the Kingswinford Triangle and land between the Charterfields estate and Holbeach, where I have been campaigning to stop inappropriate development, will remain as green spaces – hopefully for many years to come.
"Huge credit to the leader of Dudley Council Patrick Harley for having the courage to come out of the Black Country local plan, where we were powerless to stop our green belt being put forward for development, and instead adopt our own Dudley local plan that builds the homes local people need without sacrificing our precious green belt."
"He got a lot of unfair criticism for this brave decision at the time, much of it politically-motivated, but the inspector’s ruling vindicates his decision to put our local community first.
"While the Government continues to try to take the right to protect the countryside away from us, we will continue to fight to save our beloved Green Belt by making sure that the homes that we need are built in the right place."
The Dudley local plan, which sets out how 10,500 new homes could be built in the borough by 2041, will form the framework for council policy when determining planning applications.
In July last year developer Barberry Summerhill cleared the first hurdle in the planning process after being told it would not need to carry out an environmental impact assessment if it should planning permission for 560 homes at the Triangle. A substantive application has yet to be lodge.
Councillor Harley had previously described housing targets set by former housing minister Angela Rayner as a 'death sentence' for the borough's green belt, with a requirement to build a further 1,462 homes.
He said the council's planning officer had confirmed there were no 'grey belt' sites in the borough.
Resident James Fernihough said the Triangle was still far from safe.
"If anyone thinks that the Triangle is safe then think again," he said.
"We’re talking about a 10s of millions of pounds on the table if the sale is done. They will still be submitting plans and they will appeal if they don’t get what they want.
"The fight has only started so please don’t walk away thinking the job's done. The one thing I know is money rules all and this project is all about money."
