Housing Threat
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(last update 06 Oct 09)
Death of Bordesley Park!
The very good news is that the proposal to build housing estates on Bromsgrove Green Belt land was rejected by the Inspectors who examined the WMRSS proposals!
Click here.
The green belt borders of Bromsgrove are under huge pressure to take thousands more houses under plans being drawn up by regional bodies. To meet housing quotas for south Birmingham, up to 5,000 houses could be built on Bromsgrove’s northern border affecting the Wythall area. Hopwood might also be affected. Meanwhile, a further 6,670 houses could be built in Beoley to meet the housing needs set for Redditch. As neither Birmingham nor Redditch have enough land to build all these houses, the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy has the powers to authorise them to be built inside the borders of Bromsgrove instead.
The map shows APPROXIMATE areas of potential growth for South Birmingham and Redditch as designated by the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy.
As your MP Julie Kirkbride is implacably opposed to these developments and will fight them tooth and nail. She rejects the need for so many extra houses tearing up the countryside claiming “these huge housing targets are based on the assumption of large scale immigration into the UK and increasing job growth - which we now won’t have”.
But she also insists that the location of any new houses built in Bromsgrove should be decided by the local authority and not dumped on the precious green borders of the District.
The plans have been drawn up by the West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (RSS) and will be open to public scrutiny over the next few months.
If you are concerned about these developments and wish to be kept informed, or wish to add your own comments, please use our feedback form here.
Bromsgrove Council is unhappy with these proposals which have been drawn up by an external body without regard to Bromsgrove's own development plans.
Julie says,
"It is outrageous that a regional quango can launch a pincer movement on the Bromsgrove Green Belt on behalf of neighbouring Birmingham and Redditch. Bromsgrove is willing to accommodate new build but is to be given no say where this proposed housing will go. The requirement that expansion must be contiguous with the districts of Birmingham and Redditch yet be administratively part of Bromsgrove makes the whole scheme a nonsense."
So how did we get here?
Charged by the Government to take control of housing needs, the erstwhile West Midlands Regional Assembly (comprising of elected councillors in the region) proposed in December 2007 that 365,000 new houses should be built in the West Midlands by 2026. (This represented a 50% increase in the number of houses that had previously been deemed necessary under existing planning policy).
However, not satisfied with this huge increase in housing, the Government rejected the 365,000 figure as insufficient and in January 2008 came back with revised figures of 408,000 – 460,000 instead for the West Midlands region. Furthermore, to add weight to their increased figures, they commissioned planning experts Nathaniel Litchfield to examine the existing plan and to come forward with ideas as to how the extra housing numbers could be accommodated.
The threat to Bromsgrove’s green belt border comes in two forms.
The original Regional Assembly proposals concluded that Redditch should be a growth area and was given housing targets of up to 6,600 new dwellings. This number of houses cannot be accommodated within the existing Redditch boundaries and as such the RSS proposed that the adjoining districts of Bromsgrove and Stratford on Avon be allocated some of the quota as well. It is estimated that Redditch can take 3,300 of the total figure but as many as 6,700 could be built on green belt land in Beoley instead.
The threat to Wythall comes from the extra number of houses required by the Government and arise from the Nathaniel Litchfield report in which the South Birmingham area is also identified as a future growth area. As there is not enough land in the South Birmingham area to accommodate the extra houses, as many as 5,000 could be built on green belt land in the Wythall area instead.
Frustratingly, the RSS process insists that the extra housing required for the two growth areas of South Birmingham and Redditch must be built adjacent to those local authority boundaries and will, if built, therefore be placed on the green belt boundaries of the Bromsgrove District.
The RSS proposals will go to an examination in public in May of this year, although only people who are invited to do so will be allowed to give evidence.
Julie’s response
Julie is outraged at the plans which deny any democratic accountability to her constituents.
First of all she strongly rejects the housing targets demanded by the Government. The Government wants a big increase in house building to accommodate large levels of immigration into the UK and to bring down house prices. Julie points out that levels of immigration into the UK should be curbed and not accommodated in plans that will see the destruction of large swathes of the English countryside. Furthermore, high house prices have been brought about as much by the Government’s lack of oversight of the availability of credit rather than supply of housing alone – and house prices are now falling.
She expects to be called to give evidence to the RSS and will oppose vigorously the plans for Wythall and Beoley. She accepts that Bromsgrove does need to build more social housing to help people get onto the housing ladder, but insists that the location of these houses should be decided by the local authority in consultation with the public of Bromsgrove.
The RSS strategy was introduced by the Labour Government and replaces the previous system where housing targets were decided nationally and divided up between the County and Metropolitan areas. Worcestershire County Council, in turn, would divide the housing targets between the Districts in the County, but at all times locally elected politicians would be taking the final decision on the areas where future housing growth would take place.
Please see the sidebar for links to Conservative Policy on local control.
Julie's Response to the RSS
You can download Julie's response to the RSS here. Please remember that only matters relating to planning can be put before the adjuducating panel. Julie expects to give evidence in person to the Inquiry on June 23rd.
"Bordesley Park"Julie's Letter to Local Residents
A region being designated as "Bordesley Park" has been identified north of Redditch.
You can download Julie's letter to local residents here and see by roads the areas that may be affected.
If you are concerned about these developments and wish to be kept informed, or wish to add your own comments, please use our feedback form here.
