Views on housing plan 'won't be ignored' as thousands respond to controversial proposals

The Black Country Plan sparked a series of protests across the four boroughs when it was announced earlier this year, with residents furious over proposals to develop a number of green sites.

Under the draft plan, more than 76,000 homes will be built over the next 20 years, including 7,720 on green belt land, while sites will also be developed for employment.

Council bosses have revealed that an eight-week consultation into the plan – which was slammed for being inaccessible and poorly promoted – received more than 5,800 responses.

Thousands of signatures were submitted as part of five separate petitions against the plan, along with 10 group responses.

Councillor Simon Phipps, Dudley Council's cabinet member for regeneration and enterprise, said the response showed the passion across the region "for this important subject".

"We will look at the information given to us to agree the next steps which will be next year," he said.

"I must reiterate that Dudley has a brownfield first policy, so we can protect greenbelt land wherever we can.

"We have already identified vast amounts of brownfield land for development in this version of the plan, and we will leave no stone unturned in making the best use of this land to ease any pressure on our green belt."

Publication of the plan led to widespread criticism of the four local authorities, who were accused of sacrificing sites including The Triangle in Kingswinford and Calderfields in Walsall.

Frustrated residents across the region have complained about the process, with some raising concerns that certain schemes were already a “done deal” and that the consultation was a “box ticking exercise”.

Council chiefs say they have been left with no choice but to offer up green belt sites, and called on ministers to reduce the region's housing targets.

They say the consultation responses, which are currently being collated, will inform the so-called 'publication plan', which will go before each council cabinet ahead of another consultation next year.

West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has intervened into the row, saying he was convinced that not enough was being done to identify old industrial sites suitable for development. The Mayor has commissioned an ongoing review into “underused” brownfield sites that is expected to report back before the end of the year. He said: “The review will be taken into account by the four councils as they come forward with their plan.

“We believe that more can be done on brownfield, so that the take from the green belt can be less – if any. One of the key issues is, that despite all the sites we are working on at the moment, the assumption in the draft plan about what can be done on brownfield has gone up only by a tiny amount. To me that doesn’t add up, and I am convinced that more can be done on brownfield.”

If approved, the plan will formally be adopted in 2024.