Report urges chiefs not to 'destroy' green belt land near Walsall Arboretum
A new report has urged council chiefs not to "destroy" precious green belt sites around one of the Black Country's most iconic parks.
Campaigners are bidding to save two sites near Walsall Arboretum, which have been earmarked for hundreds of homes in the Black Country Plan (BCP).
They have commissioned a report by independent advisor Gerald Kells, who has outlined a series of reasons why Walsall Council should remove the sites from the plan.
It came as West Midlands Mayor Andy Street called on council chiefs to urgently publish his long-delayed brownfield study, which is expected to claim that councils have not done enough to identify old industrial sites suitable for development.
More than 5,000 homes have been allocated to the green belt in Walsall, including 592 homes at Calderfields West and 202 homes on land off Sutton Road and Longwood Lane.
The report says: "Walsall Council does not have to vote in favour of destroying areas of protected green belt around its premier park.
"Please support the local residents, not just in the wards around the Arboretum but across the whole of Walsall who value the countryside, landscape and wildlife of our town."
The report claims housing needs in the Black Country are "much lower" than the 37,000 claimed in the BCP due to old data being used.
It says significant pockets of brownfield land have been missed off the plan, and that the ecological impact of development – and the strain on local amenities – have not been properly considered.
It also raises concerns over the impact on transport, and notes that neighbouring Dudley Council has withdrawn "controversial" sites from the plan after public opposition.
The report concludes: "The simple fact is neither site needs to be built."
It was commissioned by Walsall's Save Our Greenbelt campaign group. Spokeswoman Bobbi Owen said: "Residents have paid £1,000 out of our own pockets to fund this report, which shows just how important it is to save these sites from development.
"The Arboretum is such a wonderful resource and any proposed development around it should be removed before the next stage of the Black Country Plan is published."
Meanwhile Mr Street says he is "confident" that his brownfield study will help to protect the green belt.
