Mike Wood, Member of Parliament for Dudley South, local councillors and local campaign groups have spent the last 8 weeks rallying support against “damaging” and “irreversible” elements of the Black Country Plan which propose building hundreds of new homes on green fields in the Dudley South constituency.
The largest proposal within the plans could see 863 homes built on Green Belt land at the Kingswinford Triangle and Holbeache Lane in Kingswinford North and Wall Heath. 175 further houses are proposed for green spaces off Severn Drive and Bryce Road in Pensnett and off Lapwood Avenue at Crestwood Park.
Thanks to a united effort by the team, a collective target of more than 10,000 signatures has been achieved and signatures were submitted to DMBC planners by Mike, Kingswinford North & Wall Heath councillors and the Wall Heath As One community campaign group on the final day of the official 8-week-long consultation period.
After the signatures were submitted, Mike said:
“10,000 signatures is an incredible achievement and it demonstrates the determination across our community to stop these Green Belt sites and other local green spaces being lost to housing developments. There were also hundreds more returned to protect green spaces at Severn Drive, Bryce Road and Crestwood Park.
“We will need more homes, but they need to be on old industrial sites where possible, rather than our precious green fields and so there needs to be a redoubled effort to identify and secure enough brownfield sites for the homes local families will need.
“It has been a pleasure to work with campaign groups such as Wall Heath As One and local councillors Cllr Ed Lawrence, Shaz Saleem and Cllr Phil Atkins on this campaign. I really want to thank them for their tireless work to make sure the community came together and spoke as one.
“A big thank you also to the Pensnett S.O.S (Save Our Spaces) and Crestwood Park Residents Action Group community campaign groups for leading the campaigns in Severn Drive, Bryce Road and Crestwood Park, and to Cllr Rebbekah Collins and Cllr Susan Greenaway for the work they have been doing to make the case with the Council. Together, there were thousands of written responses to the consultation setting out why efforts to need to be redoubled to identify and secure more brownfield sites so that we can preserve our valuable green spaces in Dudley South.”
