Comment

Representation ID: 23145

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark Partnership

Agent: Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark Partnership

We feel that the importance of the UNESCO brand within the context of Black Country visitor economy is understated in the wording within the 10 points listed within the panel for policy CSP5. The Black Country UNESCO Global Geopark and policy ENV 6 should also be mentioned here alongside the canals and ENV 7 comment due to its importance in international profile of the Black Country and destination perception for the visitor economy. We particularly welcome the recognition of the Geopark in paragraph 3.63

We understand the pressures to develop in the green belt and how important the green belt is to limit ‘urban sprawl’. In the context of the quality of the environment and the Geopark the natural connections to the surrounding countryside and entry points into the Black Country as a visitor economy destination are very important and need to be protected. We suspect that permission of development in ‘sustainable locations’ may be difficult to understand/explain/justify and fear setting precedents that harm the green infrastructure connectivity of such places. We see the Greenbelt statements of section 3.49 as very important but are concerned by the statement within it ‘
‘The landscape, nature conservation and agricultural land will be protected and enhanced where practical and possible’.