Object

Representation ID: 11285

Received: 10/09/2021

Respondent: Mr John Woodward

Number of people: 2

Worcester Lane Sites (DUH206,207 and 209) and Wollaston Farm (DUH217)

We wish to put forward the argument against further development on Green Belt land in Stourbridge. The points are general but we believe relevant to both Worcester Lane and Wollaston Farm locations

1. Urban Sprawl

Urban sprawl has been correlated with increased energy use, pollution, and traffic conges on and a decline in community distinctiveness and cohesiveness. In addition, by increasing the physical and environmental “footprints” of towns and villages, the phenomenon leads to the destruction of wildlife
habitat and to the fragmentation of remaining natural areas.

2. Impact on Wildlife

Wildlife is under pressure on many fronts. Over the past 50 years we've seen declines in two thirds of the UK’s plant and animal species, for a range of reasons, including loss of habitat. Many of our more common species are increasingly endangered. Green Belt land is important because it is home to a wide range of species - it can provide a wildlife highway for many animals, creating corridors for them to move between cities and towns and the wider countryside.

3. Exhaust Brownfield Sites First

There is space for at least one million homes on brownfield land in England. A recent CPRE report also showed that developments on brownfield land are completed more quickly than on greenfield sites, and academic studies have also shown that cleaning up contaminated brownfield land has public health benefits.

4. Planning Policy

England’s 14 Green Belts currently cover just 12.4% of the land in the country, and in order to keep it that way, the government needs a housing policy where brownfield land is prioritised. The government has to make it more attractive to developers – by way of subsidies or a streamlined planning process – to build on brownfield over greenbelt. It needs to be cheaper and quicker to build on brownfield than green belt and councils must be authorised to refuse planning permission for greenfield sites where there are suitable brownfield alternatives. We cannot have a situation where
we choose to build on what countryside we have left when there is space for a million new homes on land that is currently sitting abandoned.