Object

Representation ID: 14040

Received: 01/11/2021

Respondent: Mrs Louise Frances

Although by its very nature Greenbelt land surrounds our communities – it is the beating heart of what keeps them alive. Our quality of life is directly linked to biodiversity and the quality of our surrounding environment – losing greenbelt land to development would be catastrophic to the village. Not only would the character of the village be lost but we would simply merge into another suburb of Walsall and Birmingham and all the problems a grossly urban environment brings (increased crime, deprivation, poorer quality of life, poorer health, etc).

There is a wealth of research proving how intrinsically biodiversity is linked to our quality of life, and the importance of safe, accessible and well-connected green spaces for our mental health and wellbeing has never been more pertinent, with the effects of the pandemic.

Access to nature and green spaces should be a right, not a ‘nice to have’. They should be an absolute priority in developing equitable and resilient communities in urban areas (Natural England, 2011)

The invaluable ecosystem services provided by our greenbelt land include renewable resources, food provision, filtering water pollutants, reducing the heat island effect, reducing flooding, reducing air pollution, soil formation, nutrient cycling and acting as a carbon sink and reducing impacts of climate change. Therefore any development on this land would have a serious negative impact, particularly in terms of:
1. Pressure on local services
2. Building on natural environments amplifies the heat island effect – a huge concern in the midst of a climate crisis!
3. Natural habitats help us to mitigate the effects of climate change.
4. Drainage/Flooding: Natural habitats such as greenbelt absorb rainwater better than urban habitats, preventing flooding.
The Development Plan shows flagrant disregard for the Birmingham and Black Country BAP (2010) which emphasises the importance of considering landscape scale conservation and the value of wildlife corridors when protecting species. Indeed, the B&BC BAP 2010 states: “Birmingham and the Black Country’s biodiversity is a critical component of high quality of life and contributes significantly to the quality of the environment within the conurbation.” The damage caused by a development of this kind would be extremely detrimental.