Have your say on vital green spaces for homes plan
People are being asked to consider which of their green spaces they would not consider losing as Black Country authorities plan for the areas future.
Residents living in Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton have until September 8 to have their say on how the Black Country Core Strategy should be updated.
They are being asked to put forward anything from cycle paths to sport pitches or parks, open spaces or areas for wildlife as places where new homes should not be built as part of a consultation ahead of the strategy being officially updated.
The strategy will map out development across the four areas from now until 2036, including where new homes should be built and where new jobs should be provided.
As part of the consultation, there is also a call for sites where people can put forward areas of land they feel may be suitable for development.
Councillor Lee Jeavons, Walsall Council's portfolio holder for regeneration, said: “This strategy document will not only shape how we continue to protect and improve the local environment but will also set out plans on how people will get around for leisure and for work and how we manage increasing demands for growth in housing and our economy.
"There are only a few weeks to go now until the consultation comes to an end, so do please have your say on the big issues - this will affect how we plan the best future for the Black Country.”
The strategy outlines how many homes need to be built and how to plan for the number of extra jobs needed for a growing population. It also decides where new homes and businesses should be located.
The consultation document says nearly 80,000 new homes need to be built in the Black Country before 2036.
It says sites have already been earmarked for around 60,000. But new plots of land need to be found for nearly 22,000 properties as the population and economy of the area continues to grow.
The document also says there is also a need to find 300 hectares – the equivalent of more than 300 rugby pitches - of new land for industries and businesses in order to create new jobs.
The current strategy was adopted six years ago and covers the period up to 2026.
The public consultation will be on a review of the document to take it up to 2036.
The information from the consultation will be collated and used to produce a document setting out where growth might be located, and this will again go out to consultation next year.
People can find out more about the consultation and take part at blackcountrycorestrategy.dudley.gov.uk, pick up a leaflet in their local library or request a leaflet by calling 01384 814136.
