Dudley Council recommends new homes on Brierley Hill conservation area land
Dudley Council officers are recommending approval for new homes on a designated conservation area despite hundreds of objections.
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The row revolves around an area of the Clockfields site in Brierley Hill where the council is set to rule on an application for three new detached homes on a site next to Culverhouse Drive.
Although the site is privately owned it lies within a Site of Local Importance for Nature Conservation (SLINC) however officers say, with a contribution from developers to monitor biodiversity gain on the entire Clockfields site, ‘the limited harm created by the loss to part of the SLINC would be sufficiently mitigated.’
In a report for the council’s planning committee, which will meet on November 11 to rule on the application, officers said: “The development would create an appropriate form of residential development in a sustainable location.
“The scale, design and layout of the proposed dwellings would create appropriate, proportionate additions to the site and would provide suitable parking and private amenity space.”
Proposals for homes on the land were rejected in 2022 and an appeal against the decision dismissed in 2023′.
Officers say new reports submitted with the latest application have addressed reasons for previous refusal.
A total of 227 responses were received to consultation for the plan including comments from councillors Cat Eccles MP, Pete Lee and Adam Davies as well as former West Midlands mayor Andy Street and former Stourbridge MP Suzanne Webb.
A major worry for objectors was the loss of trees on the site however officers say the trees are juvenile and could be removed on condition better specimens near the site boundary are protected.
Among objectors to the scheme is Chris Baines, an author, TV programme makers and vice president of the Royal Society of Wildlife Trusts.
Mr Baines said: “The established woodland plantation at Culverhouse Drive should be protected by a group Tree Preservation Order as a matter of urgency.
“Its significance should be celebrated by Dudley, and any suggestion of built development taking its place should be rejected permanently.”
Objectors say the site is also covered by a deed of dedication relating to the protection of urban forests however planners insist that is a private legal matter for the landowner or developer.
