Call For Sites

Land at Highfields

Land off Walsall Road Walsall Wood Walsall

4.1

Poor quality agricultural land used for grazing.

Private Market Housing , Affordable Housing

120 - 150

Not known

Rights of way (public or otherwise) across the site , Previous mining activity known or suspected , Constraints on adjoining land e.g. railway line, noisy industry , Protected species / habitats

A public footpath crosses the site east to west from the access onto Walsall Road No previous activity known but the land (and adjoining land has the benefit of a 'dormant' planning permission for brick clay extraction As indicated above, planning permission exists for the extraction of Brick Clay on the Highfields North Site. This accords with national planning policy which seeks to retain these finite resources to meet the demands of future generations. It has previously been acknowledged by all parties (Company and Council) that the site is not without its challenges but this does not detract from its value as a finite and diminishing resource (especially given the situation regarding raw material supplies available to Walsall’s existing brickworks which was fully explained in Walsall's Local Plan Site Allocation Document). The remainder of the land covered by the extraction permission (ie excluding the site now being promoted) is also subject to a designation as an SSSI (a designation which post-dated the grant of permission) Current policies seek to impose significant restrictions on the manner in which the site can be worked and restored, but it must be borne in mind that the working of the site is very much controlled by the structure, quality and content of the underlying mineral deposit. Given the restricted nature of the site and the vagaries of the deposit it is highly unlikely that the site could be viably worked without disturbing the whole of the SSSI designation within it – either for extraction purposes or overburden storage. Mineral extraction within this site will therefore destroy the site’s special features but policies require that the entirety of the worked area covered by the SSSI designation must be restored to recreated wildlife habitats, of similar or enhanced value to those currently present. There is a clear inconsistency here. The fundamental point is that the two elements (clay extraction and safeguarding of the SSSI are totally incompatible). The requirements relating to the SSSI would render the site working unviable at considerable financial disadvantage to the Company. Securing development on this site has the potential to safeguard the whole of the existing SSSI. Protected habitats - see above. The adjoining land forms part of the Jockey Fields SSSI.

No

Yes

Planning Permissions EB3410 and BA5827

Yes

None

2.5

No

Yes

There is a clear conflict of interests on the wider Highfields site and this goes beyond the Extraction/SSSI difficulty. The passage of time since the original extraction permission has introduced other areas of concern - increased housing land in the locality, increased traffic on the local road network and likely impact of introducing significant heavy goods traffic activity for many years to come. Developing this small area would make it possible to secure the safeguarding of the SSSI.

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