Sandwell Council welcomes the Government’s Planning Inspector’s swift decision to reject an appeal to overturn its refusal of planning permission for an estate in Great Barr.
The initial application to build a 150-home estate off Wilderness Lane in Great Barr was rejected by the council earlier this year on the grounds that it was on almost ten acres of important green belt land, was both inappropriate and harmful, and was on a site designated as important for conservation.
Council planners also said they would not support the destruction of trees, hedges and plants in such an important green space. They continued by explaining that are a significant number of alternative sites outside of the green belt with less harmful impacts on biodiversity that could accommodate the applicant’s proposal.
The developer Wain Estates appealed to the government’s planning inspectors to reverse the decision but its arguments were turned down following an inquiry this summer. The planning inspector said the plans would have a “significant adverse effect” on the green space’s openness and would “undermine its character, identity and value as open countryside.”
Sandwell Council’s Cabinet Member for Housing and Sustainable Development, Councillor Vicki Smith, said:
“We welcome the speed in which the Planning Inspector made this decision as it shows that the argument Sandwell Council had put together to refuse this application initially were correct and robust.
“We understand the real need for affordable housing across Sandwell and want to work with developers and the wider community to build new homes. However, these must be the right homes at the right prices in the right locations.
“We value our greenbelt and what it means to our community so support the strategy of prioritising the use of brownfield or grey belt sites for development.”