Draft Black Country Plan

Comment

Representation ID: 21305

Received: 11/10/2021

Respondent: Taylor Wimpey UK Limited

Agent: Lichfields

SA-0105-DUD (Land at Clent View Road, Stourbridge)
1.0 Introduction

This Vision Statement has been prepared to demonstrate that the land at Clent View Road, Stourbridge [the Site] is suitable, available and deliverable. The Site is in
the control of Taylor Wimpey UK Limited
[Taylor Wimpey] who are capable of delivering a high quality and sustainable development of up to 400 dwellings.
This document supports the allocation of Clent View Road, Stourbridge in the emerging South Staffordshire Local Plan review and the Black Country Plan review [BCP] to assist in meeting the acute local housing needs for both South Staffordshire District and Dudley Metropolitan Borough.

The Vision Statement will:

• Outline the opportunity presented by the allocation and future development of the Site and its potential to deliver up to 400 dwellings;

• Set out the vision for the Site and summarises the design process that has led to the preparation of the Masterplan;

• Demonstrate that the vision for Clent View Road, Stourbridge can be delivered; and,

• Show that the proposed allocation and future development will deliver the Councils' objectives for the area.

2.0 Site Context








The Site Surroundings and Context

The site is located on the western edge of Stourbridge and is bordered by Clent View Road to the east. The site is located primarily within the local authority boundary of South Staffordshire District Council [SSDC] but is also partially within the authority boundary of Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council [DMBC].

The Site comprises 19.6ha of improved grassland (16.5ha in South Staffordshire and
3.1 ha in Dudley) currently used as equestrian paddocks.

The site is situated approximately 2.5km south-west of the centre of Stourbridge and immediately abuts the established residential suburb of Stourbridge to the east, which is located within DMBC.

3.0
Meeting the Need
for Development
Land at Clent View Road, Stourbridge/ Vision Statement











3.0 Meeting the Need for Development





The Government is committed to boosting the supply of new homes to deliver 300,000 per year by the middle of the decade. The 2019 update of the National Planning Policy Framework [the Framework] introduced a standard methodology for the assessment of Local Housing Need [LHN] which is to be used to "identify the minimum number of homes expected

-~
Ministry ot Housing
Communties &
Local Government
to be planned for" 1
There have been several versions of the standard
National Planning Policy Framework
methodology, with the current iteration (16th December 2020 ['the Standard Method 2']) introducing a 35% uplift, which is applied for the top 20 largest cities and urban centres in England (which includes both Wolverhampton and Birmingham).






Applying the SM2 approach results in an LHN figure of 243 dpa for South Staffordshire. This represents the minimum number of homes needed per year as set out in paragraph 61 of the revised Framework (July 2021).

For Dudley, the LHN figure is 635 dpa although as we set out below, as it is one of the four Black Country authorities, there are significant issues to be addressed regarding the extent to which the housing need can be delivered. In total, the Black Country authorities have an overall annual need for 4,001 dpa (including 1,466 dpa in Sandwell, 869 dpa in Walsall and 1,041 dpa in Wolverhampton).

It is important to note that the Government guidance is clear that the SM2 LHN
is only intended to be a minimum figure. The 2020 PPG states that there will be circumstances when a higher figure than that generated by the SM2 might be considered. This is because SM2 does not attempt to predict the impact that future government policies, changing economic circumstances or other factors might
have on demographic behaviour. Therefore, there will be circumstances where it is appropriate to consider whether actual housing need is higher than the standard
method indicates, including taking on unmet need from neighbouring authorities2
Febru ary 2019
Ministry of Hou sing Commu nities and Loca l Go vernme nt

In this regard, both South Staffordshire and Dudley form part of the Greater
Birmingham and Black Country Housing Market Area [GBBCHMA] and have committed to help meet the unmet needs arising from the wider HMA.


1. Planning Practice Guidance
Ref ID: 2a-002-2019022
2. Planning Practice Guidance
Ref ID: 2a-010-20201216






9/
3.0/ Meeting the Need for Development



























South Staffordshire


The Preferred Options Local Plan (September 2021) proposes to plan for a housing target of 8,881 dwellings between 2018 and 2038. This comprises of 4,131 dwellings to meet South Staffordshire's own housing need using the government's standard method (2021•
2038), 750 completions in the District since the start
of the plan period (2018-2021), and 4,000 dwellings to contribute towards the unmet needs of the GBBCHMA.

The Preferred Options Local Plan recognises the need to balance the protection of the Green Belt with the
need to deliver a sustainable growth strategy that meets the district's housing needs. It acknowledges the lack of suitable brownfield sites to meet this need and proposes Green Belt release on this basis. The proposed Spatial Strategy indicates a supply of 10,034 dwellings to meet the identified housing target of 8,881 dwellings but there is no guarantee that all of these sites will come forward
as anticipated. We also consider that a higher housing target is appropriate for the reasons identified below.

At a very basic level, the current SM2 figure is 243 dpa, which equates to 4,131 dwellings over the plan period. However, as noted above, the 243 dpa SM2 figure is
the minimum starting point, and the Preferred Options Local Plan does not confirm whether the Council has undertaken an exercise to assess whether there are exceptional circumstances to indicate that a higher LHN figure would be appropriate to meet its own needs, even before the discussion turns to the extent to which it needs to be providing for the wider HMA's unmet needs, which are extremely high.
With regard to the 4,000 dwellings proposed to contribute towards the unmet needs of the GBBCHMA the emerging Plan states:

"Since we proposed to accommodate this level of growth in 2018, updated land supply statements produced by the GBHMA local authorities have indicated the extent of the housing shortfall up to 2031 appears to have fallen significantly, whilst also indicating that the Black Country's urban capacity evidence
shows a significant level of housing need arising into the later 2030s. This is also reflected in the Draft Black Country Plan consultation, which seeks to deliver housing in urban areas and through Green Belt release to meet the area's housing needs, delivering 47,837 homes within the Black Country up to 2039 whilst indicating
a potential shortfall of 28,239 homes they seek to export through the Duty to Cooperate. Whilst the Council will be working with the Birmingham and the Black Country authorities to ensure that housing supply within their administrative areas is truly maximised prior to being exported to other areas, it still is clear from evidence to date that a significant housing shortfall is likely to remain across the GBHMA".
This significantly underestimates the true extent of unmet need. For example, the 2021 Draft BCP identifies a huge shortfall of 28,239 homes across the four Black
Country districts, a 63% increase from the 17,300
shortfall identified in the 2018 review when SSDC
decided to contribute 4,000 dwellings to this need.
At 23% in 2018, if a similar proportionate contribution was made by South Staffordshire to the Black Country's current shortfall, this would see the District's contribution increase to 6,529 dwellings - an increase of 2,529.

It should also be noted that the very significant challenge of meeting Birmingham City's unmet need has not gone away and indeed is likely to intensify in the near future. At present, Birmingham City Council's adopted Local Plan has a target of 2,555 dpa. The current SM2 figure is 4,829 dpa, a difference of 2,274. However, this figure is capped at 40% above the adopted Plan target, a cap which falls away after the
Plan is over 5 years of age. This tipping point will occur in January 2022, after which Birmingham's minimum starting point LHN increases to a huge 6,750 dpa. This will put even greater pressure on districts in the HMA such as South Staffordshire to contribute an even greater share of this housing need.

Furthermore, as Green Belt release is required to meet the preferred level of housing growth in the district, additional Green Belt release will be required to meet any further need.












10/
Land at Clent View Road, Stourbridge/ Vision Statement











Dudley


As a part of the ongoing preparation of the BCP, the Black Country authorities published the 'Black Country Urban Capacity Review Update' in May 2021 [the BCUCRU]. The BCUCRU identifies the Black Country's Standard Method 2 LHN figure as 4,004 homes per annum or 76,076 homes over the period 2020-39. At the time of writing (July 2021), this has actually increased slightly, to 4,011 dwellings, or 76,209 dwellings over the
19-year plan period.

Taking into account existing supply (the amount of housing need which can be accommodated in the Black Country urban areas) the BCUCRU concludes that the housing shortfall across the Black Country is significant, at around 36,819 homes over the period 2020-2039.
This is despite reviewing all potential sources of housing capacity, making a series of structured assumptions around density and windfalls, and comprehensively exploring the capacity on occupied employment land in the context of up-to-date employment land evidence.

The purpose of the BCUCR is to identify whether any further potential development capacity can be found
in the urban areas of the Black Country in accordance with requirements of paragraph 141 of the Framework. It concludes that it is not possible to meet the significant need for housing land in the urban area.

The 2021 Draft BCP acknowledges that it is not possible to provide for all the Black Country's housing and employment land needs within its administrative boundaries, given the circumstances around land deliverability, constraints and the need to protect
the unique character of the area. Following on from the BCUCR, the Plan concludes that exceptional circumstances have been demonstrated to remove certain areas of land from the Black Country Green Belt to meet housing needs.

In this regard, against an identified need for a minimum of 76,076 homes over the period 2020-2039, a target
of 47,837 is identified (including Green Belt releases)
-a shortfall of 28,239 dwellings. The emerging Plan acknowledges that the Framework requires this unmet housing need to be provided for across the Housing Market Area, Functional Economic Market Area [FEMA] and other areas with which the Black Country has a physical or functional relationship. This includes
South Staffordshire.
Clearly, a large number of new homes and supporting services will need to be accommodated outside the existing urban area of the Black Country on Green
Belt land.

There is a significant shortfall of 28,239 homes and the BCP has failed to provide sufficient land through Green Belt release to meet this minimum need. There is a need for the Black Country Authorities to grapple with this issue more robustly and ensure that sufficient housing land is provided through additional Green Belt release.

The 2021 Draft Black Country Plan states that the Black Country Authorities will support their neighbours in bringing forward land for housing and employment that sits adjacent to the existing administrative boundaries, and will work in partnership to ensure infrastructure needs are met in full across administrative boundaries. As the only non-Black Country district that borders Wolverhampton, as well as abutting both Dudley and Walsall, South Staffordshire is the most logical district to accommodate these unmet needs.

Exceptional Circumstances


The Framework states that Green Belt boundaries
should only be altered in exceptional circumstances. It is clear that such circumstances exist in the Black Country and South Staffordshire and the authorities have appropriately discharged their obligation in paragraph
141 of the Framework to consider "all other reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development".

In order to meet housing need, it is considered that the Clent View Road Site should be allocated for residential development as part of the emerging BCP and South Staffordshire Local Plans.

Insufficient land is available within the Black Country and South Staffordshire on non-Green Belt land to meet the unmet housing needs of present and future generations and the release of Green Belt land is required. Exceptional circumstances therefore exist to remove land from the Green Belt. There is a clear and compelling need for the Black Country Authorities to
address the identified shortfall of 28,239 homes through additional Green Belt release to ensure that sufficient housing land is provided. This is even before the very significant unmet need in Birmingham is taken into account, which will necessitate even higher levels of provision in HMA districts such as South Staffordshire.





11/
3.0/ Meeting the Need for Development











Will Taylor Wimpey invest in South Staffordshire and Dudley?


Like many areas in the UK, South Staffordshire and Dudley are expected to experience a shortfall in available non-Green Belt land to meet future
development needs. If this issue is not addressed there will be a clear imbalance between supply and demand with insufficient houses coming onto the local property market and there will be limited opportunities for prospective purchasers. As a consequence, this makes South Staffordshire and Dudley an attractive market for Taylor Wimpey to invest in.
About Taylor Wimpey

Taylor Wimpey UK Limited is a dedicated homebuilding company with over 126 years' experience; we have an unparalleled record in our industry. We aim to be the homebuilder of choice for our customers, our employees, our shareholders and for the communities in which
we operate.

We have expertise in land acquisition, home and community design, urban regeneration and the development of supporting infrastructure which improves our customers' quality of life and adds value to their homes. We draw on our experience as a provider of quality homes to meet the expectations of today's buyers and strive to provide the best quality homes, while setting new standards of customer care in the industry. Our
23 regional businesses in the UK give our operations significant scale and national geographic coverage.

With unrivalled experience of building homes and communities Taylor Wimpey continues to be a dedicated house building company and is at the forefront of the industry in build quality, design, health and safety, customer service and satisfaction.

Taylor Wimpey is committed to creating and delivering value for our customers and shareholders alike. Taylor Wimpey combines the strengths of a national developer with the focus of small local business units. This creates a unique framework of local and national knowledge,
supported by the financial strength and highest standards of corporate governance of a major pie.
Taylor Wimpey's development experience

Taylor Wimpey Strategic Land (West Midlands Division) is responsible for the promotion of future development opportunities, such as this Site through the planning system. Taylor Wimpey Strategic Land has a large active land portfolio of Brownfield and Greenfield Sites in the West Midlands varying from 5-250 acres which are at various stages of the planning system.

Taylor Wimpey is the largest and most successful developer/promoter of Strategic Land in the Country. More specifically, over the past 5 years in the West Midlands, Taylor Wimpey Strategic Land has secured permission or allocations for c. 8,000 new homes.
This successful strategy comes from ensuring a close working relationship with landowners, Local Authorities, politicians and local communities.

4.0
What are the
Planning
Objectives
Land at Clent View Road, Stourbridge/ Vision Statement











4.0 What are the Planning Objectives










Planning Policy


The Framework outlines the Government's commitment to boosting the supply of housing and ensuring that
land allocated for development is deliverable and can support the provision of affordable homes.

The Framework stresses the "presumption in favour of sustainable development" with development meeting social, economic and environmental objectives. In
this context the Framework promotes the delivery of sufficient housing to meet the needs of the local community, as informed by local housing need assessment (using the standard method in
national guidance).

The Framework highlights that an essential characteristic of Green Belts is their permanence. As a consequence, changes to Green Belt boundaries will only be appropriate where "exceptional circumstances are fully evidenced and justified".

The South Staffordshire Core Strategy [SSCS] notes that South Staffordshire occupies a unique position on the edge of the West Midlands conurbation and local residents rely heavily on nearby towns including Stourbridge for their higher order services, such as
hospitals, leisure activities, higher education facilities as well as employment opportunities.

Stourbridge is identified within the adopted Black Country Joint Core Strategy [BCJCS] as a Town Centre, which provides for convenience shopping as well local comparison shopping opportunities, local services and local leisure facilities, and are key areas in the settlement hierarchy below Strategic Centres. The provision of housing at Clent View Road will assist in maintaining Stourbridge's role in the settlement hierarchy of Dudley and the wider Black Country and enable easy access
to residents in South Staffordshire to the higher order
services it provides.
The Site is sustainably located and benefits from access to an established and attractive active travel route (Roman Road) for walking and cycling. A number of schools and local facilities including Stourbridge Town Centre are located within a convenient distance from the site. Development of the Site will assist in the delivery of housing and provide additional benefits for
the local community in terms of recreation provision and increased access to greenspace.


Sustainable Development


The Framework explains that the purpose of planning is to help achieve sustainable development. There
are three dimensions to sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. These dimensions give rise to the need for the planning system to perform a number of roles:

• Economic role - contributing to building a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right type is available.

• Social role - supporting strong, vibrant and healthy communities.

• Environmental role - to protect and enhance our natural, built and historic environment.
Would the development harm
Green Belt purposes?


In delivering sustainable development, the Framework attaches great importance to the Green Belt. The fundamental aim of Green Belt policy is to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open; the essential characteristics of Green Belts are their openness
and their permanence. The Framework defines a series of tests to demonstrate whether "exceptional circumstances" exist to justify revisions to the Green Belt boundary.

The Framework states that before concluding that "exceptional circumstances" exist, the Council will be required to demonstrate that it has fully examined all other reasonable options for meeting its identified need for development. This includes:

• Making as much use as possible of suitable brownfield Sites and underutilised land;

• Optimising the density of developments; and

• Discussions with neighbouring authorities to ascertain whether they could accommodate the identified need.

The Framework indicates that when drawing up Green Belt boundaries, the Council should consider the need to promote a sustainable pattern of development,
channelling development towards the urban area. Where Green Belt land is required for release, consideration should first be given to land which is previously developed and/or well served by public transport.




15/
4.0/ W hat are the Planning O bjectives
























The South Staffordshire and
Black Country Green Belts


In South Staffordshire around 80% of the District is designated as Green Belt. With 20% of the District's countryside not designated as Green Belt, the District is at risk from development 'leapfrogging' to sites immediately beyond the Green Belt boundary which
could result in unsustainable patterns of housing, public services or employment land.

The Black Country Green Belt comprises a relatively narrow fringe of countryside within its boundaries to
the north, south, and west of the urban area (with more extensive areas of Green Belt lying beyond to the north and west in South Staffordshire), and larger areas within the eastern parts of Sandwell and Walsall boroughs.

LUC have completed Green Belt Studies on behalf of South Staffordshire District Council (July 2019) and the Black Country Authorities (September 2019) as part of the evidence base to inform the Local Plan Reviews.

The part of the site which lies within South Staffordshire is identified within a wider parcel of land [Sub Parcel
Ref S82C -Southwest of Stourbridge] in the South Staffordshire Green Belt Study. The Study concludes that the sub parcel makes a strong contribution to preventing sprawl of the West Midlands conurbation at Stourbridge, makes a moderate contribution to maintaining separation between Stourbridge and
Kinver; and makes a strong contribution to preventing encroachment in the countryside. The Study notes that no Green Belt land in South Staffordshire makes
a contribution to the setting or special character
of a historic town. It concludes that all parcels are considered to perform strongly against Purpose 5.
The Study concludes that releasing land here would partially weaken the existing consistent boundary, however the containment provided by the woodland block at lverley Heath/Bunker's Hill would limit
wider harm.

The part of the site which lies within Dudley forms part of a longer parcel of land extending to the north [Sub Parcel Ref B59A -- Roman Road] in the Black Country Green Belt Study.

The Study notes that the sub-parcel makes a strong contribution to preventing sprawl of the West Midlands conurbation to the east and to preventing encroachment on the countryside, and a moderate contribution
to maintaining the separation of Stourbridge and Kidderminster (via intervening settlements). It concludes that no Green Belt land in the Black Country contributes sufficiently to the setting or special character of any
town within or around the study area, to make more than a weak contribution to Green Belt Purpose 4.
It also concludes that all Green Belt land within the Black Country makes a strong contribution to urban regeneration (Purpose 5).

Taylor Wimpey considers that the land at Clent View Road would perform a limited contribution to the five tests if it were to be reviewed on a site-specific basis. An assessment of the Site's compliance with the five Green Belt purposes is therefore set out below.

4.0/ W hat are the Planning O bjectives











Compliance with the five
Green Belt purposes


The following assessment considers the Site against the five purposes of the Green Belt to establish its suitability for Green Belt release. These five purposes are:

1 To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built up areas;

2 To prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another;

3 To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment;

4 To preserve the setting and special character of historic towns;

5 To assist in urban regeneration by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.
To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built up areas

The site comprises a land parcel which is adjacent to the existing urban area. Several buildings bound parts of the site to the west (Frog Hall Cottages) and south• west (High Lodge Care Services). The site has a strong
woodland boundary to the west, and is further bound to the north by an access road, and to the south by a line of mature trees and a wooded area.

These physical features provide strong, enduring defensible boundaries to the north, south and west
of the site. Therefore, the removal of the site from the Green Belt will not result in the unrestricted sprawl of the urban area.

To prevent neighbouring towns from merging into one another

The site is not essential in preventing any neighbouring towns merging into one another. The site does not comprise an essential parcel of land that needs to be kept open for any strategic reason.

The future development of the site would not result in merging of settlements and would retain a significant gap of approximately 2.7km between Stourbridge
and Kinver. In addition, a gap of approximately 4.9km between Stourbridge and Kidderminster would be retained. The woodland planting to the west and south west provides a permanent defensible boundary and would ensure that a gap can be retained.

To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment

The Clent View Road Site comprises a natural extension to the urban area and represents a logical continuation of residential development on the edge of Stourbridge. As stated above, the woodland area to the west and south-west provide strong, established boundaries, and the site is bounded to the north by an access road and to the south by a line of mature trees.

The development would result in some encroachment into land which presently is countryside, though it is immediately adjacent to the existing urban area and a sympathetic layout which reinforces site boundaries could assist in the integration of any future development of the land.
The removal of the site from the Green Belt does not affect the purpose of safeguarding the countryside from encroachment.

To preserve the setting and special character of historic towns

The site does not affect the setting and special character of a historic town and therefore does not contravene this purpose.

The removal of the site from the Green Belt does not affect the purpose of preserving the setting and special character of a historic town.

To assist urban regeneration by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land

The release of the Site from the Green Belt would not prevent the recycling of derelict land and other urban land within South Staffordshire or Dudley, as there is insufficient previously developed land available to meet future housing requirements.

The South Staffordshire 2019 Spatial Housing Strategy
& Infrastructure Delivery document recognises that the Council's housing target and desire to pursue an infrastructure-led strategy will only be deliverable if Green Belt is released to deliver additional housing land in the district.

The BCUCRU also concludes that the amount of housing need which cannot be accommodated in
the Black Country urban areas remains significant, at around 36,819 homes. The Draft BCP fails to adequately address this matter in the Green Belt releases it
identifies and a significant shortfall of 28,239 homes remains. Further Green Belt release is necessary in order to address this shortfall. This is even before the
very significant unmet need in Birmingham is taken into account, which will necessitate even higher levels of provision in HMA districts such as South Staffordshire.

Therefore, there is a requirement for the identification of new sites on land outside the urban area that are not currently proposed for development. Further land will need to be removed from the Green Belt to meet housing needs.










18/



5.0
What is
the Vision?
Land at Clent View R oad, Stourbridge/ Vision Statem ent











5.0 What is the Vision?










Place Making The Masterplan


Taylor Wimpey's vision for the Site is:

"A sustainable, distinctive and attractive, residential development which will help meet the needs of the community for new housing, retain, protect and enhance
key features of the landscape and complement existing development in the local area".
The masterplan seeks to retain and enhance the existing attributes of the Site whilst also delivering a high-quality development capable of helping to meet local housing requirements. Development has been set back from the established hedgerows and tree belts which define the edges of the Site to create a network of green open spaces to include POS and native and naturalised planting for the use and enjoyment of local residents. This will help to mitigate the visual impact of the development when viewed from surrounding countryside, as well as providing a sensitive interface between the urban form and surrounding open space.

Naturalised attenuation basins would be provided at the lowest edges of the Site, allowing for the provision of sustainable drainage techniques, whilst also creating further biodiversity value to help support local wildlife and habitats.

The inner areas of the Site have been utilised for a high-quality residential development with the primary vehicle and pedestrian access points proposed off Clent View Road. The scheme will deliver the following key features:

• Up to 400 high quality homes suitable to the needs of the local community with a varied mix of house type, tenure and size.

• A network of safe and attractive Public Open Spaces, including a central greenspace and areas of open grassland incorporating recreation facilities such as LEAPs and MUGAs, as well as native and naturalised planting running along the periphery of the Site for use by local residents and local wildlife alike.

• A legible and attractive hierarchy of routes throughout the Site including a high quality pedestrian routes running through the Site as well as a series of well• designed streets and lanes providing users with attractive and safe connections throughout the development.

• A variety of pedestrian connections to the surrounding area including 'Roman
Road', the public bridleway to the north and the public footpath to the south.

• A layout which would provide natural surveillance across all areas of public spaces whilst clearly defining private rear gardens.

Land at Clent View R oad, Stourbridge/ Vision Statem ent










Constraints and Opportunities


The place-making vision for the Site derives from an analysis of the characteristics for the Site, its context, and the opportunities and constraints which arise.

The constraints are:

• The eastern boundary of the Site is defined by a number of existing properties which face onto the Site. Whilst these properties are separated from the site by Roman Road, their existing boundaries are low with a majority of the houses currently
overlooking the Site. Opportunities therefore need to be explored to ensure the development of the Site can be delivered in a way which is sensitive to the visual and residential amenity impact upon
these properties.

• Clent View Road running to the east of the Site represents the only opportunity to gain vehicular access into the Site. Clent View Road has the capacity to accommodate the additional traffic/ vehicle flows associated with the development on the Site.

• The course of a Roman Road has been listed within the ordinance survey maps. The inclusion
of this within the Site will require further surveys to determine whether a development buffer is required.

• The southern boundary of the site comprises a visually sensitive edge adjacent to the existing public right of way. Areas of green space and screening woodland should be included in order to provide a buffer to the adjacent public right of way and limit encroachment on the surrounding countryside.
The opportunities are:

• To respond to the Site attributes to provide a development which is specific to its context and responding to the needs of the local community.

• The retention and enhancement of the existing tree belts and hedgerows which run along the boundaries of the Site to improve levels of Site containment and mitigate visual impact.

• To provide safe and attractive pedestrian accesses into the Site from Clent View Road and the adjacent permissive footpath 'Roman Road' and the adjacent public bridleways and public footpaths.

• To utilise the Site to provide a high-quality landscape driven development which embraces the green assets to deliver a residential development within a network of high quality greens, routes
and spaces.

• Retaining the existing field pattern as part of the
site layout would allow for natural breaks within the development and form green corridors leading to open countryside beyond.
The key principles of development arising from the Site opportunities and constraints are:

• To create a development which is specific to Stourbridge by sensitively responding to the unique attributes and characteristics of the Site and its wider context.

• To provide safe and convenient access for both new and existing residents to local amenities and facilities through the delivery of public open space and pedestrian connections to Clent View Road, Roman Road, the public footpath adjacent to the Site leading to lverley Heath and Bunkers Woods, and the adjacent public bridleway 'Westwood Avenue' to allow for opportunities to access nearby recreation assets, including Little lverley
Covert woodland.

• To provide a central area of greenspace to
create a sense of place and provide recreational opportunities within the site through the provision of facilities such as LEAPs and MUGAs, and the use
of sustainable links through the site incorporating existing assets such as the Roman Road.

• To provide green gateways into the site along the main accesses, with the opportunity to create tree lined streets to contribute to the character and quality of the development and help mitigate and adapt to climate change.
• To provide a development of suitable scale, form
and appearance which meets both the needs of the local community in a sustainable way, whilst also being sensitive to the character of the surrounding townscape and landscape setting.
• To retain, enhance and embrace the Site's natural assets through the inclusion of naturalised green infrastructure including wetland attenuation basins, managed wild grasslands and the planting of native shrubs/trees to contribute to a well-designed and beautiful place in accordance with the Framework.

Alternative Masterplan


Taylor Wimpey is currently investigating the potential to include additional areas of land within the proposed masterplan for Clent View Road. The Alternative Masterplan includes these additional areas. As these areas would effectively provide development in areas surrounded by the land being promoted, or between this land and the existing urban
area, they are not considered to perform any significant additional Green Belt role and are therefore suitable for release.

These additional pieces of land would provide approximately 150 additional dwellings within a network of high-quality greens, routes and open spaces which would integrate with and connect to the wider development area. Existing tree belts and hedgerows to boundaries would be retained and enhanced to further improve containment and mitigate visual impact and would provide a well-connected and comprehensive greenspace network as part of the overall scheme. The additional open space brought forward in these areas would provide further recreational and placemaking opportunities within the site.

The Alternative Masterplan also identifies a 'Potential Expansion Site' to the west of the masterplanned area which measures 24ha in area. The potential to acquire and develop this land is also being investigated by Taylor Wimpey.

This land is well contained by existing permanent defensible boundaries which are capable of preventing urban sprawl and preventing encroachment into the wider countryside. An access road lined by established boundary hedgerows runs to the north and a thick belt
of woodland planting at Bunkers Hill Woods to the west and south. The land would be contained by development on the Clent View Road site to the east. The future development of the site would not result in merging of settlements. It would retain a significant gap of approximately 2.3km between Stourbridge and Kinver and a gap of approximately 4.9km between Stourbridge and Kidderminster. This land does not affect the setting and special character of a historic town and therefore does not contravene this purpose. The release
of this land from the Green Belt would not prevent the recycling of derelict land and other urban land within South Staffordshire or Dudley, as insufficient previously developed land and land in the urban area is available to meet future housing requirements.

It is considered that this land would form a logical future phase of development once the masterplanned area is completed and could potentially come forward for release towards the end of the Plan period or be identified as Safeguarded Land to meet needs beyond the plan period.

6.0 Can the Vision be Delivered?









Is the site available? Is the site suitable?
• The site is situated is situated 0.4km from Shenstone Avenue bus stop, which provides regular services to the centre of Stourbridge and Dudley.
The proposed allocation and development of the Site:

• Will make a valuable contribution towards meeting the quantitative and qualitative needs of the community for market and affordable housing. It could deliver a up to 400 high quality family houses.

• Is being promoted by a national housebuilder, Taylor Wimpey, who can deliver the proposed residential scheme. Taylor Wimpey is seeking to commence development as soon as the Site is allocated.

• Is not subject to any known constraints that would impede deliverability. There are no legal impediments, or any need for land in third party ownership. The Site is therefore fully deliverable.
• The Site is located to the west of the residential
area of Stourbridge in close proximity to a number of services and facilities in Stourbridge. Schools, shops, residential communities, and leisure facilities are all accessible by a choice of means of transport, including walking and cycling.

• Stourbridge Town Centre is approximately 30 minutes walking distance from the northwest of the site
where access to Stourbridge Town railway station is also available. Stourbridge Junction rail station is located approximately 3km from the proposed
site and provides regular services to nearby and
well-connected stations including Birmingham New Street, Kidderminster, Solihull, Worcester Shrub Hill, and Stratford-Upon-Avon.

• Stourbridge is identified within the adopted BCJCS as a Town Centre, which provide for convenience shopping as well local comparison shopping opportunities, local services and local leisure facilities, and are key areas in the settlement hierarchy below Strategic Centres. The provision
of housing to maintain Stourbridge's role is the settlement hierarchy of Dudley and the wider Black Country is important.

• The land also benefits from clear, well-defined boundaries and it is considered that its allocation and future development will not have a detrimental impact on the form and character of the settlement.
The allocation and development of the Site provides an opportunity to create a long term defensible boundary to Stourbridge and the provision of housing
development for South Staffordshire and Dudley.




























29/
6.0/ Can the Vision be Delivered?























Is the development achievable?
Is the Development Viable?


• Taylor Wimpey has reviewed the economic
• The Framework [Annex 2] states that for a Site to be viability of the proposals in terms of the land value,
achievable there should be a reasonable prospect that housing will be delivered on the land within five years.

• Taylor Wimpey has undertaken an evaluation of the technical and environmental constraints that could prevent or restrict the development of the land.
This work has identified that there is no overriding constraint that will impede its delivery.

• The site is not within a Conservation Area and there are no listed buildings within or around the site. The site is situated in Flood Zone 1.
attractiveness of the locality, level of potential market demand and projected rate of sales; as well as the cost factors associated with the Site
including site preparation costs and site constraints.
Where potential constraints have been identified, Taylor Wimpey has considered the necessary mitigation measures and required investment in order to overcome any deliverability barriers.

• Taylor Wimpey confirms that the development of
the Site is economically viable and is confident that residential development can be achieved within the first five years of the plan period.
• The Site is under the control of a major housebuilder. It is not subject to any significant technical or environmental constraints that will prevent it coming forward for housing.


The Site is under the control of a major housebuilder.
It is not subject to any significant technical or environmental constraints that will prevent it coming forward for housing.



























30/



7.0
Does the Scheme
Represent Sustainable
Development?
Land at Clent View Road, Stourbridge/ Vision Statem ent











7.0 Does the Scheme Represent
Sustainable Development?







Sustainable Location Sustainable Development

A key element of national and local policy is to
ensure new developments are located in areas where alternative modes of travel are available. It is also important to ensure that developments are not isolated but are located close to complementary land uses.

The Site will form a sustainable urban extension to Stourbridge and benefits from being in close proximity to a range of local services and facilities together with employment and education opportunities. This Vision Statement demonstrates the level of accessibility provided by sustainable modes of transport, including
pedestrian and cycle infrastructure and public transport. These provide good, sustainable links to key services and facilities in the surrounding area.

These services are illustrated by the Sustainability Plan, and include the following:
• Gig Mill Primary School
• Ridgewood High School
• Stanley Road Playing Fields
• Stourbridge Lawn Tennis and Squash Club
• Co-op Convenience Store
• Post Office
• The Greyhound Pub
• The Broadway Pharmacy
• Norton Medical Practice
The Framework explains that the purpose of planning is to help achieve sustainable development. There
are three dimensions to sustainable development: economic, social and environmental. These dimensions give rise to the need for the planning system to perform a number of roles:

• Economic role - contributing to building a strong, responsive and competitive economy, by ensuring that sufficient land of the right type is available.

• Social role - supporting strong, vibrant and healthy communities.

• Environmental role - contributing to protecting and enhancing our natural, built and historic environment.

The future development of the Site will have positive economic, social and environmental benefit and therefore constitutes sustainable development in accordance with paragraph 7 of the Framework.

34/
Land at Clent View R oad, Stourbridge/ Vision Statem ent








Economic Benefits Social Role Environmental Role

Up to 400 new homes offers the opportunity for economic growth, will assist in meeting South Staffordshire and Dudley's objectively assessed housing need and add to the local authority's revenues.


Economic Role


The development of the Site will contribute towards building a strong, responsive and competitive economy. The proposal will bring a number of economic and fiscal benefits in terms of job creation, additional monies to
the Local Authority and increased expenditure in the economy.

The Site is sustainably located in close proximity to a designated Town Centre. The delivery of high-quality housing in the locality will contribute to ensuring
that population growth is focused in an area close
to employment opportunities, which can be easily accessed via a sustainable transport network.

Housing supply also plays a key role in the flexibility of the local labour market which itself is an important component in local economic competitiveness. A shortage of housing or lack of affordability can act as a barrier to people accessing employment opportunities or result in long distance commuting with adverse transport and environmental impacts. The development will assist in addressing this, and will also provide numerous construction benefits, seeking to use local construction firms and suppliers where possible to create jobs for the local economy.
The development of the Site will support the creation of a strong, vibrant and healthy community by increasing the supply of housing in a sustainable location. The proposed development will comprise a high-quality built environment and has been designed to meet the needs of the area and complement the character of
the surroundings.

The revised Framework places particular emphasis on the following social aspects of sustainable development:

• Ensuring a strong mix of housing is provided, to ensure inclusive growth and enable all groups of the population have access to appropriate housing which directly meets their needs;

• Delivering housing in the right places to ensure communities have access to employment and local facilities and services; and,

• Ensuring the development of high-quality,
distinctive and well-designed places which create a sense of place within the community.

The proposals respond effectively to these objectives outlined by national policy. The future development of the Site will:

• Provide a suitable range of dwellings in various types, sizes and tenures to meet the needs of the local population, and establish a mixed and sustainable community;

• Deliver units as affordable housing to meet identified local need;

• Provide opportunities for residents to work in surrounding areas, including Stourbridge Town Centre, utilising the Site's sustainable location and excellent connectivity via surrounding networks;

• Facilitate the use of non-car modes of transport, especially cycling and walking; and

• Provide public open space for both existing and future residents.
The Site is currently in agricultural use and is considered to be of limited ecological value.

Although the proposed development will involve the loss of greenfield land, the proposals will provide numerous compensatory improvements, and seek to retain, enhance or mitigate the existing ecological and environmental features of value on the Site. Existing hedgerows and trees will be retained and incorporated where possible within the proposed development supplemented with further woodland planting to help screen the site and integrate it with surrounding assets such as lverley Heath and Bunkers Hill Woods. The site extent allows the opportunity to provide wide-ranging enhancements to demonstrate a 'biodiversity net gain'.

The proposed scheme includes provision of Public Open Space, in the northern, central and southern parts of the site incorporating areas of attenuation. The scheme also includes areas of open space along the boundaries and responds to the environmental features adjacent to the borders of the Site with appropriate landscaping.

Stourbridge is identified as a Town Centre within Dudley and includes a range of employment opportunities, as well as retail, education and other services that serve a wide area. The Site also benefits from excellent public transport links and connectivity to the strategic
road network.

The Site is sustainably located on the edge of an established settlement. Local services and amenities are well situated in Stourbridge. All facilities are within
suitable walking distances (up to 2km walking distance). Existing public transport services close to the Site
serve a wide area and allow for the opportunity to utilise sustainable methods of transport.

No environmental constraints have been identified that would inhibit the future allocation and development of the Site.



The proposed development will meet the Government's objectives for sustainable development by providing significant economic, social and environmental benefits.

8.0Summary





The Clent View Road, Stourbridge Site should be removed from the Green Belt and allocated for housing. This Delivery Statement has clearly demonstrated that the Site represents an excellent opportunity to deliver a sustainable residential development.




Suitable Sustainable

South Staffordshire Council and the Black Country Authorities have indicated that exceptional circumstances exist to justify the release of land from the Green Belt:

• There is inadequate land within the urban area to meet emerging housing needs. In addition, the draft BCP fails to identify sufficient land to meet
the minimum local housing need of 76,076 homes.
Further Green Belt release is necessary in order to address the shortfall of 28,239 homes identified. This is even before the very significant unmet need in Birmingham is taken into account, which will necessitate even higher levels of provision in HMA districts such as South Staffordshire.

• Land will need to be removed from the Green
Belt and safeguarded to meet development
needs beyond the plan period. The Site should be allocated for residential development.

• The Site is predominantly contained by development and strong boundaries. The allocation and future development of the Site provides an opportunity to create a long-term defensible boundary to Stourbridge.
• It is anticipated that the Black Country Plan review and the South Staffordshire Local Plan review will be completed by 2024. The Clent View Road Site should be allocated for residential development to meet needs from 2024.
The allocation and future development will:

• Provide a catalyst for economic growth providing significant economic, social and environmental benefits to the residents of South Staffordshire and Dudley.

• Meet the Government's objective for creating sustainable development.


Deliverable


The Site is:

• Not the subject of any technical or environmental constraints that would prevent it coming forward for housing development.

• Under the control of a major house builder. If the Site is allocated, Taylor Wimpey will bring forward housing development on the Site over the next
5 years.
Exceptional circumstances exist to justify the release of the Site from the Green Belt. There is an
acute need for housing in the Black
Country and South Staffordshire and further Green Belt release is required. This is even before the very significant unmet need in Birmingham is taken into account, which will necessitate even higher levels of provision in HMA districts such as South Staffordshire.
The Site no longer serves the purposes of the Green Belt as set out in the National Planning
Policy Framework. Removing the
Site from the Green Belt will have limited impact on urban form and landscape character. The Site should be allocated for housing in the emerging South Staffordshire Local Plan and BCP to deliver much needed housing.