West Midlands Mayor Andy Street has welcomed a decision to throw out controversial plans to build on cherished green space in Great Barr, saying ‘we don’t need to build on the Green belt.’
The proposals to build 150 homes on the green-belt site in Wilderness Lane - between Q3 Academy and Aston University’s sports pitches on Birmingham Road - have been rejected by Sandwell planners.
West Midlands Mayor Andy, who has been campaigning against the proposals with West Bromwich East MP Nicola Richards since 2020, said the decision was a ‘victory for common sense.’
He said: “Residents in Great Barr have been concerned about these plans since they first surfaced some years ago, and I share their relief to see that they have been thrown out.
“The fact is that we simply don’t need to build on the Green Belt in the West Midlands. There are lots and lots of other sites – old industrial eyesores that have often blighted communities for years – that we can build on instead.
“That’s the whole point of my ‘Brownfield First’ policy, which is seeing so many old industrial sites reclaimed and built on.
“It’s about providing the funding to clean up the old sites for reuse, soi that developers don’t have to target the green, open spaces that we all cherish.
“We have brought in hundreds of millions of pounds to do this over the last few years, and have just earmarked another £200million.
“There is no need for sites like Wilderness lane to be built on, and this decision is a victory for common sense – and for the residents who have objected.”
Sandwell Council said such development was "inappropriate" and "harmful", adding the authority would not support the destruction of trees, hedges and plants in one of the area’s most important green spaces.