Object

Representation ID: 17998

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Miss Michelle Webster

I strongly object to the proposed building on the green fields near my home - Moseley Meadows and Northicote Farm. When my estate was built, it was on green belt land. There were many objections and the council promised at that time (around forty years ago) that no further green belt land would be built on. I have personally been walking through these local fields and Northicote farm for the last 20 years. I appreciate nature very much, it is why I chose to live where I do. son also loves walking around the area and is equally devasted to hear the fields may soon be built on. So many more people started walking around the local area during lockdown. If the fields are built on, I believe it will have a negative impact on the health and wellbeing of people in this area. It will also affect Northicote Farm and Woods, as with all the extra amount of people accessing the much smaller amount of land, more of it will be destroyed. Already there are far less blue bells than there used to be due to so many of the areas being regularly trodden on. It will also completely destroy the character of the area.

The road infrastructure will also not be able to cope. Even when there were temporary traffic lights errected recently on Northicote Lane, the traffic was queuing all the way back to the mini round about. There are a limited amount of routes out of the area due to the railway bridges. So increasing the traffic will have a very noticeable detrimental effect on the area.

There are also not enough local facilities for people who live in the area already. Our closest secondary school has been demolished. So have our local swimming baths and our community centre, as well as most of the local pubs. The GP practices are already overloaded meaning it is almost impossible to get an appointment to see a doctor. There is no local walk in centre either.

Yet I'm aware of plenty of empty buildings, derelict pubs and other unused patches of land, both locally and elsewhere in Wolverhampton, which could be used instead for housing. Surely these should be prioritised over precious greenbelt land.

The empty buildings over the shops in the city centre could also be converted into housing, so regenerating Wolverhampton city centre and making it a more welcoming, safer place to visit.

I strongly hope you will listen to the local Wolverhampton councillors, our local MP Jane Stevenson and our West Midlands Mayor Andy Street, who are all saying that it is important to consider brownfield sties first. They are saying that it should be possible to create enough extra homes and address Wolverhampton's housing need without destroying our greenbelt land. I strongly believe this greenbelt will be so needed, not just now but also for future generations to enjoy.