A Black Country MP has today spoken out against a major planning application on Green Belt land known as ‘The Triangle’ located in Wall Heath, Dudley.
Mike Wood, Member of Parliament for Kingswinford and South Staffordshire, called the application ‘reckless’ and noted that it was not necessary, as Dudley would have met its housing requirements for the next five years in the most recent version of Dudley’s Local Plan, set to be published imminently.
Mike Wood MP said:
“The reliance on reference to ‘Grey Belt’ in this application is fundamentally misplaced and carries no weight in the context of Dudley’s plan-led approach to developments.
Dudley Council have worked hard to make provision for adequate housing supply in the latest edition of their Local Plan, set to be approved imminently. Even the National Planning Inspector has supported Dudley Concil’s evidenced based brownfield policy first policy.
Unfortunately, this Labour Government's proposed reforms to the planning system have encouraged developers to recklessly carpet our Green Belt with unnecessary housing developments such as this.
Dudley has precious few Green Belt sites, and we must work together to preserve The Triangle for future generations to come. Whilst the Government continues to try to take the right to protect the countryside away from us, we must continue to fight to save our beloved Green Belt by making sure that the homes that we need are built in the right place.”
The planning application published by Dudley Council outlines plans for up to 557 homes, including provision for the construction of blocks of flats up to five storeys tall, on land adjacent to Summer Hill School.
