Objections to Dudley housing application top 5,000
Campaigners hand over more than 1,000 letters of objection to council leader
The battle to save green land from bulldozers took another step forward when more than 1,000 letters of objection were submitted.
Campaigners fighting an outline planning application for 557 new homes on land in Kingswinford known as ‘The Triangle’ handed the letters to Dudley Council leader, Cllr Patrick Harley, on June 5.
The council, which is set to rule on the application from Barberry Summerhill Limited, has already received 621 objections to the plan on its website and a further 3,383 signatures have been logged via an online petition against the proposal.
Campaigners from the Wall Heath and Kingswinford Green Belt Group, which is also fighting an outline application for development on land near Holbeache House, say the 1,013 letters means the Triangle scheme has now received 5,017 objections.
David Stringfellow, secretary at Wall Heath and Kingswinford Green Belt Group, said: “Coming hard on the heels of the Holbeache planning application we feared that having to oppose two separate planning applications very close together would tax our resources to the limit, many thanks to all of you who helped to achieve this.”
Campaigners say development on the site, off Swindon Road, would mean the loss of green belt land and place too much pressure on infrastructure like schools and roads.
Their campaign already has the support of Cllr Harley and Kingswinford MP Mike Wood who believes an appeal against refusal could put the final say on the plan in the hands of the government.
At a public meeting on the application, Mr Wood said: “If outline planning permission is granted the value of what they can sell it for to developers goes up astronomically and they would make an absolute killing.
“I have every confidence the council will reject this application then we can make sure we put as much pressure on the government to listen to the local community and listen to local decision-makers.”
In a statement supporting the application, property consultants Harris Lamb said: “DMBC (Dudley Council) are in a position where they need to grant planning permission for the sustainable development of unallocated sites, such as the application site, to bolster affordable housing delivery and reduce the gap between their emerging housing and the current local housing need.
“The site is in the control of an experienced promoter and has strong interest from a major national housebuilder meaning it can be brought forward for development promptly.”