Comment

Representation ID: 17551

Received: 10/10/2021

Respondent: Cheryl Bullock

Firstly Before my objections. I want to say how disgusted I am by the way that this plan has been set up, it was all kept very quiet and felt very underhanded, it is flawed and discriminatory, it may have been online but not everyone looks online for planning information!!
As a resident [REDACTED-GDPR] which will be greatly impacted by the plan myself and other residents felt we should have been notified by post about this plan.
As for the form: DOE BANK LANE was totally missed off it. which is absolutely disgraceful and unacceptable and very misleading for Pheasey residents.

Comment

Representation ID: 17587

Received: 03/10/2021

Respondent: Mr John Wileman

I also wish to let it be know to you that we did not receive any notification about these proposals until 21st September, more than half way through the consultation period. This is unfair and unjust, as this impacts very heavily on our lives.

Object

Representation ID: 17602

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Miss Taryn Nabi

We live at [redacted] and only got the letter through our door on Friday. [redacted] Even though the letter is dated 21 September, its taken 6 weeks to get to us.

Object

Representation ID: 17606

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Member of Parliament

It would be remiss of me to not comment on the consultation process. Whilst it is for the planning inspector to deem whether it has met regulatory requirements, it is very clear there has been no real intent to engage effectively with the local community. A plan of the scale and size of the Black Country Plan required a more detailed and interactive consultation. There is also a need to ensure that a plan for over 15 years of growth is based on reasonable discussion with the community to form those assumptions and not one based on minimum requirements. After all, the community are the subject matters of the needs and wants of the area in terms of housing and infrastructure.
The complexity of the online process is widely known, understood, and acknowledged by the Council itself.

Object

Representation ID: 17608

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Mrs Joanne Hysa

Objection to Black Country Plan in general + please see attached sheets for objections to 1 site in particular.

Comment

Representation ID: 17706

Received: 28/09/2021

Respondent: Mr & Mrs Allan & Rosalind Male

Number of people: 2

Green belt land must be protected and every other option to provide the necessay housing and business premises
must be explored and acted upon first.
Surplus retail capacity in town centres should be converted or redeveloped to provide residential accomodation or other business use [maybe small to medium workshops].
Residential property which has been empty for a period of time [say two or more years] should be compulsorily
purchased and brought back into use.
Large houses [more than four bedrooms] which become empty should be divided to provide two or more residential
properties.
The loss of green belt also means a loss of farmland. If the country grows less food, more will have to be imported from
abroad. this will have an adverse impact on the global environment.

Object

Representation ID: 17707

Received: 09/10/2021

Respondent: Mr & Mrs William Walker

This is a small country by comparison, and the population keeps increasing - hence the need for more houses. We must protect our open land for future generations, otherwise where will our children play? They will be confined indoors. It is not healthy to keep building on open land. There won't be enough air for us to breathe if the number of people keeps increasing.

Object

Representation ID: 17780

Received: 10/10/2021

Respondent: Mrs Maria Lacolino

The recent pandemic has proven how valuable our green belt/space land is to our health and wellbeing. Furthermore, we know that green belt land is important to our environment and habitats. The reduction in trees is a contributing factor to climate change and green belt sites provide the best locations for trees to be planted.

Whilst only 3% of greenbelt land is being released for development, it sets a precedent in future years for a further 3% to be taken and a further 3% thereafter...until slowly it's eroded to barely a patch on the Dudley map.

Our focus should be to allocate housing on brownfield sites only and regenerate these to meet housing and employment needs. Consideration must to be given to how further brownfield can be released so that no greenbelt / green space is sacrified. The Black Country planning strategy should strive towards ensuring that existing greenbelt / green spaces are maintained for all existing and future residents of the Black Country to enjoy as part of their landscape.

Object

Representation ID: 17788

Received: 01/10/2021

Respondent: Maria Sealey

[Consultation]
(1) Lack of information given to local residents & home owners
We purchased our home on [redacted - sensitive information] and prior to completing contracts, I contacted Walsall Council Planning Department as our surveys had picked up that the site had been mentioned on the Urban Development Plan at that time.
I was advised by the Planning Department that the idea that the landowners submitted had been removed from the latest version of the UDP which was going through the approval process with the planning team. They had mapped the land to continue to be greenbelt area with no development and made particular note to the fact that the landowners had tried to get planning twice previously but both times it was rejected by Walsall Council & the Planning Department.
At no point, in the [redacted - sensitive information] years since then, have we been notified, advised or pre-warned of another idea of development for Home Farm, Sandhills. This is despite our road being mentioned in the Gallagher Estates surveys and documents found on the Black Country Plan website.
It is only on 30th September 2021, with just eleven days to go until the consultation period ends on 11th October 2021, that somebody has hand delivered a copy of your comments form and a Black Country Plan document regarding the Draft Plan Consultation.
It is abhorrently wrong that local residents are expected to discover potential development sites by themselves without being notified well in advance and being given the opportunity to be involved and prepare their objections where appropriate.
I appreciate that Black Country Plan have put leaflets in local libraries and have advertised on the back of buses, however, the advert on the back of the bus does not do anything to alert people that they need to be on the ball checking the proposed plans for their area and the leaflets in the libraries also do not alert anyone either. I also saw a short video that was posted on Sandwell Councils Facebook page; however, you should not be assuming that local people follow all of the borough council's social media channels. None of these methods are a fool proof way of ensuring that local people know what is going on, you should have contacted everyone in writing months ago.
The Black Country Plan have incorrectly assumed that people are out and about, looking at the back of buses and using public libraries. I can assure you they are not. Not only do people work full time and use online resources for reading, but you have elderly residents who are less mobile, suffering with ill health and may also not be internet savvy.
You have completely failed to give local residents sufficient time to prepare their responses to the draft plan.

Object

Representation ID: 17795

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Mr Mark Finney

[Consultation process]

1. This identification of local land has not been brought to the attention of local residents via posted letters so feels rather underhand. It is only that some residents have found out about it at the eleventh hour that local residents are able to have their say before your deadline of 5pm today. Furthermore, your process to "consult" is obfuscated: I attempted to do this online via your portal and in spite of this message:

"Thankyou, your representation has been received. We have sent you an email acknowledging receipt of your representation."

- I have not received any acknowledgement.

As such, I am e-mailing in your PDF document to ensure my views are submitted before your deadline.

Object

Representation ID: 17798

Received: 10/10/2021

Respondent: Mrs Marian Price

[Consultation Process]

Futhermore, I think it shameful that I was unaware of these planning proposals until they were mentioned on the local news programme 'Midlands Today' on Friday 8th October 2021 and informed that any objections should be made by Monday 11th October 2021 by 5pm. The fact that the proposals were only put forward online diminishes and invalidates the process. More care and attention should have been given to ensure that residents with no internet access were better informed.

Comment

Representation ID: 17811

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Mr Mark Stevens

[No text provided]

Comment

Representation ID: 17842

Received: 04/10/2021

Respondent: Mrs Mary Barker

[Green belt]

I disagree with building on green space at all, it should be of last resort after looking at all abandoned buildings first. Too much emphasis is put on building on virgin land rather than previously developed land.
Consideration must be given to the fact that it not just homes but infrastructure such as schools, shops, roads as well making sure that local roads can take the new volume of traffic and that Council services are adjusted to meet higher demand such as as refuse collection etc.
Housing needs to be built with space for electric cars to be charged off road to avoid trip hazards by tailing cables across pavements.

Object

Representation ID: 17883

Received: 05/10/2021

Respondent: Miss Mary Mattey

[General Green belt]

I have a huge objection to the building of housing on any green belt land. Why are we reducing the already small percentage of green belt which can be enjoyed instead of available brownfield land? There are many unused and dilapidated buildings which should be earmarked for renovation, or removal and rebuild, way before we should be considering green belt. Why on earth are we doing this to our environment??

Object

Representation ID: 17952

Received: 06/10/2021

Respondent: Mr Matthew Walton

[General Green Belt]

Strongly opposed to the green belt strategy

Object

Representation ID: 17955

Received: 10/10/2021

Respondent: Mr Matthew West

[Consultation]

Finally, I would also like to complain about the lack of consultaion and public awareness of these potential developments. Many people were not aware of this until they saw the report on the BBC News. I am a memeber of our streets' Whats App group and people were clearly not aware from the content of our messages. Surely in the era of multi media communication more could have been to inform people through the media, while care should have been given to inform those who do not have access to the web. This, in itself, does not build trust, a vital commodity at present!

Object

Representation ID: 17956

Received: 08/10/2021

Respondent: Mrs Maureen Ford

[General Green belt]

1) Strongly object to Green Sites being used for development. Why do we need all these extra properties when people don't have large families, as in Victorian Times?
2) Why do we take people from other countries when we can not accommodate them?
3) Why are people better off when they separate making it easier for couples to split up? (our views taken from friends families, knowing this to be the case)
4) Planning Committee should be make up of the general public (as discussed and suggested some years ago)

Object

Representation ID: 17989

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Mr Keith Hawker

Number of people: 2

Sustainability Appraisal

The infrastructure is already over whelmed to capacity, ie - schools, doctors, sewage, road traffic, local services, amenities and environment.

I object to building further on our greenbelt areas, until all brown sites have been fully utilised.

Object

Representation ID: 17996

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Miss Michelle Webster

[General Greenfield]

I object to building on green field sites in general, as I believe there are plenty of alternative brown field sites that can be used. It might take more effort to look for them, but they are there. It may take more work to prepare them ready to be built on, but surely this is better than building on good farmland? We as a UK need our farmland in order to be able to sustain ourselves and be less reliant on food imports. Then there is the impact of destroying so much greenery, when our planet is already in crisis. We need as many trees as possible. Replacing 100 plus year old trees with saplings elsewhere is just not the same. They will take many years to grow. There is also a negative impact on insects and other wildlife. In addition, we need our greenery for our mental health and well-being.
One thing I like about my estate is the way strips of greenery have been left between roads, as places for locals to walk. This is something I would like to see repeated in any new estates that are built.

Object

Representation ID: 18002

Received: 05/10/2021

Respondent: Mr Mike Cheadle

[General Green Belt]

The concept of utilising green belt sites is, in my mind, completely unacceptable. These sites provide vital areas , almost lungs, to current residents. The proposed developments are large and will put additional strain on infra-structure .Many residents currently experience daily difficulties with on-road parking causing local congestion. I'd urge that Black Country Plan consider maximising re-use of smaller brown field sites , hence spreading the development over a larger area.

Object

Representation ID: 18072

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Mrs Tina Collins

Having read Planning for Health in the Black Country: Evidence Base for Black Country Plan Health & Wellbeing Chapter, I'm confused and have grave concerns for it makes for grave reading.
I'm an [job[ and fortunately I spend most of my time out of Black Country, I'm a great advocate of the outdoors and how beneficial it is to people by both maintaining and improving their mental health. The main reason I enjoy my job is that I get to leave the Black Country and go to more rural and remote places, Sandwell is far to built up, during lockdown Sandwell Valley was akin to being in a supermarket, it highlighted just how little green space we have per head.
I have no idea how reducing the green space available is going to help the people of the Black Country, more houses on green spaces is a massive mistake. Sandwell is a depressing place to live especially visually, just take a drive around it, improvement of the current surroundings and development of derelict building would go a long way to improve outlooks and prosperity.
More could and should be done to utilise the green spaces we have, getting young children out into nature, clubs to teach people how to grow veg etc at home, mindfulness and yoga classes outdoors, community isn't what it was, for lives have changed dramatically, and you can't reverse this.
Getting people to work together for change (change that will actually happen), that they will benefit from, get them growing foods and educate to why they're important in diets. More activities for people, sports for children and supply kit, make places safe to walk, jog and cycle. We need more green spaces not less, we need to improve what's here already not build more on green spaces. Improve congestion before building more houses, cars are often stuck in traffic Great Bridge to Burnt Tree would be a great place to start. I've lived here all my life and I've never felt like you can get involved or that you're encouraged to have aspirations and my children have been treated the same way, they also been told that they're doing enough to pass and therefore don't need help to do better.
I object to plans to build on green spaces and I believe that you need to look deeper at root causes and work harder to protect the environment we live in.

Object

Representation ID: 18098

Received: 08/10/2021

Respondent: Miss Lisa Weston

[Consultation]

I have separately objected to one aspect of the Draft Black Country Plan (policy WSA2 - High Heath housing) but lots of other people I have been in contact with, living in areas which may be severely affected by proposed urban extensions, were either unaware of the publication of the draft plan or having been aware of it and tried to object (most of them to WSA2) found it too difficult due to the size of the consultation documents and difficulties using the online form.
I know the Black Country is a large and very complex area to plan (maybe that's the root of the problem) but I
think more could have been done to publicise the draft plan and make it easier for people to understand and respond to

Comment

Representation ID: 18110

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Mr Philip Harris

WALSALL BOROUGH SUMMARY

IN YOUR SUMMARY OF THE "BLACK COUNTRY PLAN" THE PARAGRAPH TITLED "WHAT DOES THE BLACK COUNTRY NEED TO PLAN FOR?" YOU SAY YOU WILL PROTECT NATURAL ENVIRONMENT, YOU CANNOT DO THIS USING GREEN BELT SITES. YOU NEED TO MEET THE HOUSING NEEDS INCLUDING AFFORDABLE HOUSING, AS LOCAL AUTHORITIES _ALL_ HOUSING SHOULD BE FOR SOCIAL HOUSING _NOT_ PRIVATE SALES. YOU MAKE NO ATTEMPT TO EXPLAIN HOW THE INFRASTRUCTURE (UTILITIES / PUBLIC TRANSPORT) WILL BE IMPROVED TO ACCOMMODATE THE NUMBER OF HOUSES PROPOSED. LOCAL AUTHORITIES NEED TO RE-PURPOSE EMPTY AND VACANT BUILDINGS FOR HOUSING USE. ALL THESE SITES WILL REDUCE THE NATURAL BORDERS BETWEEN PELSALL AND OTHER AREAS. THE ADDED IMPACT OF THE EXTRA CARBON FOOTPRINT IS INCROGOUS TO THE LOCAL AND NATIONAL CLIMATE POLICIES.

Object

Representation ID: 18127

Received: 06/10/2021

Respondent: Mr Tony Sutton

I have never encountered a comments system that is so hard to find and difficult to complete as this one. I believe that the leader of the council has deliberately placed as many obstacles in the way of democracy as possible

Object

Representation ID: 18156

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Dr Purushottam Shiralkar

NO COMMENTS MADE ON FORM

Comment

Representation ID: 18164

Received: 23/09/2021

Respondent: Mr Trevor Walker

NO RESPONSE PROVIDED

Object

Representation ID: 18299

Received: 30/09/2021

Respondent: Mr Neil Thacker

[Consultation process]

I would like the plan to focus away from any green belt development and look to make brown field sites and land within existing built up areas more suitable to the provision of quality housing. Our countryside is a precious resource for the enjoyment and wellbeing of all people and I believe taking away greenbelt land for profit driven development is an unnecessary violation and amounts to vandalism. Where will rampant development end if not kept in check?

I would like to make a complaint concerning how difficult making this objection and navigating the consultation has been. I feel a majority of local people object to building houses on greenbelt land but have not been given an adequate means to voice their opinions. If this is a true democratic process then surely there should be a democratic vote for all parties that this will impact for good or bad?

Object

Representation ID: 18419

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Mrs Maureen Butcher

Concerned regarding traffic and schools already very busy.

Comment

Representation ID: 18432

Received: 07/10/2021

Respondent: Richard Brooks

General:
Why are you using ‘metric’ when you mean ‘measure’? Please avoid jargon

Object

Representation ID: 18444

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Mrs Jenny Hulme

[Consultation]

Thank you for considering my objections.

I believe The Black Country Plan/Consultation procedure is discriminatory. The Consultation is flawed.

The presentation of the Black Country Plan/ Walsall Borough Summary

Households in this area have not been 'fortunate' enough to receive this 8 (?) page Booklet and Comments Form. Myself and several volunteers have taken it upon ourselves to contact our Councillor to request he sources said documents, collect from Walsall Townhall and drop off many boxes to my house. I then organised several volunteers to deliver to the whole of the Pheasey Park Farm Ward.

l am told there are many thousands of these documents 'sitting' in the Townhall awaiting delivery by whom ? If these forms are not delivered, which now is highly unlikely, what will happen to them? Please advise.

Upon delivering these said documents the overwhelming response is one of "well it doesn't affect us because it is the Black Country, we are not part of the Black Country. It is totally misleading".

When reading this 8 (?) page document I needed someone to explain, why on page 6(?), in the table under
'Site Name' - Doe Bank Lane and Pheasey Park Farm, is not included when it is part of the area that will be most affected by these proposals?
I was advised by a Planning Officer that "the text box isn't big enough".

Page 8 " You can view copies of the Draft Plan documents and a map................"

When this consultation period began in August many libraries were not open for normal days or hours. Walsall First Stop Shop has been closed since the beginning of COVID and remains closed. Noting all of the other places to view these proposals, there is nowhere listed within our local area, Pheasey Park Farm, where this information has been publicly available or displayed. A few booklets did 'turn up' at The Collingwood Centre,
after it was pointed out to a Councillor, this area had received nothing. The Collingwood Centre is the heart of
our community and also the Pheasey Hub, why hasn't it been advertised and made prominent in either of these places?
' pages not numbered so can only guess)

Surely there should have been at least one public meeting held locally where the plans were available for all to see, the ramifications for this area were explained and the opportunity to have 'your' say was heard and recorded.

The BCSP document is 961 pages and is not presented in 'Plain English' for all to understand.
Where are there copies of the BCSP document, which is easily accessible, for all to read?

If you can find the details online the form completion and referencing to the information assume a certain level of competency and understanding. Does this not exclude many who may have a valid reason for sharing their views?

If you do not have access to a computer how on earth are you meant to find, read, understand and reference a
960 page document?
The knowledge required to present 'your' view is beyond the understanding of many.
This local area, which will be most affected by the proposed changes, has had no notification whatsoever.

It is said that the BCSP has been advertised on Radio, Newspapers and in the Media. Why is it then that the people who live in this area and will be most affected by the changes have no idea this is happening?

The demographic of the Pheasey Park Farm Ward is very mixed and not all have the wherewithal, IT equipment, knowledge or understanding to enable them to respond this way. What about the elderly or people without transport, of which there are many in this area, meant to do?
Why would you go and look for a Booklet and Form, let alone a 960 page document, that you did not know
existed?

Black Country Plan - Walsall Borough Summary (Booklet)

"We are reviewing the Black Country Plan and would like to hear your views" "We want your views",
·••..... "We would like to know your thoughts"

There will not be many 'objections' or additional information forthcoming because very few around here had any knowledge of it happening before it was too late.