‘Sacrilege’ as Walsall green belt could be swallowed up by more than 7,000 homes

Aside from the environmental devastation, they fear congested roads, lack of schools, and loss of farmland.

In October 2025, Walsall Council released its draft Walsall Borough Local Plan - a document where several plots of land across Walsall have been allocated for housing for prospective developers.

The blueprint has been created in response to government directive to build 1.85million homes within five years.

In the Aldridge and Brownhills area alone, sites have been allocated for over 7,000 homes.

Over 4,000 of those are located at just four sites – Queslett Road, Calderfields, Black Cock Farm and Home Farm on Lichfield Road.

The huge figure does not cover several developments on sites not allocated in the draft local plan, such as proposals for 500 homes on Bosty Lane, and the recently approved Longwood Lane development of 115 homes.

Aldridge residents, husband and wife Christine and Derek Edwards, have formed an action group called Stop the Build on Aldridge Green Belt.

The pair launched the campaign after attending a consultation meeting in July last year for 355 homes at Druid’s Heath.

Christine, 73, said: “We went to the meeting and it really fuelled us to think that this cannot be right.

“We were horrified, as were most residents, so from then on we started leafleting.

“There’s a lot of anger, denial and almost inevitability. I don’t believe in that word because nothing is inevitable. If it’s wrong it’s wrong, and this is wrong.

“The absolute devastation is sacrilege, and it’s all being done on the back of the government’s reclassification of the green belt to grey belt.”

Chair of the group, David Smith, 68, said: “It’s already very difficult to get into the doctors, extremely difficult to get into the dentist.

“We’ve been trying to find out from the health services about the capacity and what they are planning to do. So far no answer at all.

“There are a number of sites identified. Some of them are appropriate for housebuilding, some of them are not.

“This one on Stonnall Road, it’s farmer’s land. Keir Starmer said we’re not ploughing up farmer’s land.”

Local resident Connor McCormack, 27, said: “I don’t want houses on our green belt, it’s completely wrong. We lose our local identity.

“I’d like to be on the property ladder but it’s so wrong it’s on the green belt. I hope this is a wake up call for the people who voted for the government who have brought this in.”

Christine added: “These developments are always promoted on affordable housing. A two bedroom ex-council maisonette round the corner is valued at £200k plus. So you tell me if a three-bedroom house here is going to be affordable? No way.”

Jonjo McNamara, chief of staff for Aldridge-Brownhills MP Wendy Morton, said the situation is likely to get worse.

He said: “We are going to be submerged into a greater Birmingham, that’s the real danger. We lack the infrastructure to deal with the amount and scale we’re talking about.

“It’s only going to get worse because of further changes to the National Planning Policy Framework where the government reduces the five green belt criteria down to three, and the main one they want to get rid of is green belt for protecting urban sprawl.”

The ministry of housing communities and local government has been approached for a statement.

Councillor Adrian Andrew, deputy leader at Walsall Council said: “The council must prepare a local plan following instruction by central government, and this sadly includes reviewing the Green Belt.

“If the council does not submit a local plan by the government deadline, then there will be much less control over where developments can be built.

“Officers are now reviewing the 1000’s of comments from the consultation. Absolutely no decision has been made about what sites might be included in the next stage of the plan, Regulation 19.

“A major purpose of the local plan is to ensure that sufficient infrastructure is provided, and the council is working with service providers including education and the NHS to identify their needs.

“We now have planning by appeal with little regard given to the concerns of local people.”