The latest attempt to build on the Green Belt around Wolverhampton is totally unnecessary.
Barratt Homes have revealed they want to build potentially 600 homes on Green Belt land at Pennwood in Wolverhampton, describing the cherished site as a “long-term opportunity”.
This latest attack on the Green Belt in Wolverhampton is totally unnecessary and I will do everything I can to stop it from happening.
We have shown that there are enough derelict brownfield sites to ensure that nothing is built on the Green belt in the Black Country for at least 10 years, and the Government is providing hundreds of millions of pounds to clean up those old sites so they can be used for housing.
So, when the Green Belt is targeted in this way it is simply a case of developers taking the easiest possible option, at the expense of the green, open spaces that local people cherish. It can not be allowed to happen.
My ‘brownfield first’ policy has brought in over £450m of investment to regenerate the West Midlands’ former industrial sites for development, and Wolverhampton is set to become the capital of brownfield remediation technology with work beginning on the National Brownfield Institute in the City only a few days ago.
Pennwood is not an opportunity for development but a vital piece of Green Belt to be defended. This is not just about defending Green Belt at critical sites around Wolverhampton like Pennwood, Seven Cornfields and Linthouse Lane, it’s about directing redevelopment and new homes to long-standing derelict brownfield sites.
We have shown that brownfield first works – now we must ensure that developers accept that is the only option open to them in the Black Country.
I launched my ‘Green Belt’ pledge in Wolverhampton’s neighbouring Seven Cornfields last year – saying there was no need to develop on any Green Belt in the Black Country for at least a decade.
I will double down on funding and promoting brownfield sites in Wolverhampton for regeneration, to protect sites like Pennwood. I also promise to oppose ANY planning application for Pennwood or similar Green Belt sites around the City.
