Policy GB2 – Extensions and Replacement Buildings in the Green Belt

Comment

Representation ID: 23189

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Historic England

Paragraph 3.8.1 sets out that large swathes of the Green Belt are also areas of significant historic landscape character. How is the plan providing a positive strategy for the historic environment and protecting areas of significant historic landscape character?

Object

Representation ID: 23371

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: West Midlands CPRE

Agent: Gerald Kells

Policy GB2
This policy is welcome but should reference the importance of ‘openness’ and also the 5 Green Belt purposes

Comment

Representation ID: 45885

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Transport for West Midlands

Whilst we recognise the constraints of accommodating the majority of the Black Country’s housing needs within the existing urban area, from a transport perspective these locations are almost always more suited for new development – where good public transport serves high-volume corridors and the provision of consumer amenities are close to where they live and work. While the impact of new development will continue to have a significant (and often detrimental) impact on existing networks, as evidenced in numerous studies including the Walsall to Wolverhampton Corridor Study, it is vital the transport measures proposed, mitigate against any negative transport impacts – especially those which further reduce the viability or attractiveness of alternatives to private car usage.

Unfortunately, from the above corridor study findings together with PRISM outputs, the proposed infrastructure improvements for this corridor appeared to do very little to offset the increase in travel demand or affect positively, travel behaviours in the area. Therefore, an increase in car mode share and a decrease in bus, walking and cycling mode shares was predicted by the study, with any new development planned only exacerbating existing transport issues in the corridor.

With this in mind, it is only where no other possible sites are available should sustainable urban expansions of greenbelt land be explored and TfWM will continue to work alongside the Black Country authorities to fully understand the levels of sustainable transport provision, alongside the necessary mitigation measures required to support such proposed growth.