Comment

Representation ID: 23468

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Birchills Agenda 21 Group

Number of people: 339

The lack of appropriate evidence base is
concerning, given that the Council is, and has included, large parts of the Reedswood area (which contains sensitive public open space areas, including Reedswood Town Park) within a so called 'Core Regeneration Area".
This will result in the loss of sensitive public open space areas from the Reedswood area. Walsall Council is encouraging damaging patterns of development within the local area, which will result in a shortage of public open space for local residents to enjoy, to help support more physically active healthy lifestyles.

The Walsall Metropolitan Borough has some of the worst health data within the whole of the United Kingdom. Such as high numbers of childhood and adult obesity cases, a prevalence of Type 2 Diabetes, strokes etc. Walsall Council's planning approach within the Reedswood area of Walsall will make the situation a lot worse.

The situation is concerning and very alarming.

The green space provides an accessible natural green space area located on the doorstep of residential communities within the Reedswood area. It forms a critically important public open space area.

The Coronavirus (Covid-19) global pandemic has shown how important these local nearby natural green space areas are to the health and wellbeing of local communities as they help to support more physically active healthy lifestyles, and tackle the obesity pandemic currently affecting the Walsall area. The Coronavirus
pandemic has highlighted the increased relevance of green space to health.

In my opinion, these "pandemic-related factors" have been given an insufficient level of material planning weight by Walsall Council in its approach to spatial town
planning taken within the wider Reedswood area of Walsall. The Council's position is insufficiently robust and unsound.

5) In accordance with central Government (London) national planning guidance in paragraph 174 (indent e) of the Revised National Planning Policy lung containing areas of mature and semi-mature broadleaved woodland
it therefore helps to mitigate the effects of very fine particulate harmful air pollution from the heavily congested M6 motorway network. By helping to filter-out, remove and reduce harmful levels of air pollution from vehicular traffic using the adjacent congested M6 motorway network, this urban green space area therefore helps to play a fundamental role in helping to protect the
health of thousands of local residents living within the wider Reedswood area.

As local residents, we have a fundamental Legal right to 'Clean Air'. This Legal Right is supported within the European Convention on Human Rights (The Human Rights Act) and should therefore be identified and respected within the emerging Black Country Plan (Review). On this basis, the Pouk Hill green space area 'Urban Green Lung Air Quality Enhancement Benefits'
should therefore be specifically identified and shown as an 'Urban Green Lung Air Quality Enhancement' designation on the main Policies Map of the emerging Black Country Plan (BCP) (Review). This special designation should also cover the area of urban green space located on the opposite side of the M6 motorway network, bordering the Jane Lane Primary School and
Churchill Road. These important urban green space buffers on both sides of the M6 are critically important to the health and well-being of thousands of local residents for the reasons explained above.