Conservative candidate Mike Wood has written to South Staffordshire District Council to urge them to protect Green Belt land around Wordsley, Kingswinford and Wall Heath at Ridgehill Woods and Lawnswood.
He was responding to the Council's consultation on its Housing Strategy as part of the South Staffordshire Local Plan Review, supporting the work of local community campaign group Friends of Ridgehill Woods.
In his submission to the consultation, Mike said:
"There is no need to build housing on Green Belt in or around Dudley Metropolitan Borough, and there is therefore no justification for releasing Green Belt land in Lawnswood, Ridgehill Woods and neighbouring areas.
"Our local Green Belt acts as the lungs of the West Midlands, helping to protect air quality levels in our communities. Easy access to green space is extremely important to the health and quality of life of people in Dudley South. Once this valuable Green Belt on the edge of our towns is destroyed, it would be almost impossible to restore."
Earlier this year, as Dudley South's Member of Parliament, Mike organised a local public meeting with the Leader of South Staffordshire District Council and senior officers from the council so that they could hear the strength of opposition from residents in Dudley South to any proposals to build on the Green Belt land. The meeting was so popular that a second meeting had to be held immediately afterwards so that everybody could have a chance to get in.
Although the current consultation is not concerned with any specific site - and there are not yet any formal planning applications for the land - Mike is encouraging local people who want to save the Green Belt to respond to South Staffs Council setting out their objections so that we can remove the land at Lawnswood and Ridgehill from consideration for future housing development
