“IT’S the death knell for the quality of life of the residents of Redditch who live here”.
That was the verdict of Webheath Action Group chairman David Rose after HM Inspector Michael Hetherington this week gave the green light for 2,800 new homes from Foxlydiate up to Bentley village in Bromsgrove district, and 400 new homes for the Webheath area.
The inspector, who held two public hearings at Redditch town hall into the overall plan for the area, concludes that, “clearly, the Foxlydiate allocation represents a substantial loss of Green Belt land….” however, “…..taking into account the need for housing within Redditch….. I am satisfied that exceptional circumstances exist to justify the site’s removal from the Green Belt.”
Mr Rose described the verdict as ‘disappointing but not surprising’ and added it leaves campaigners with just two alternatives left – a judicial review, or first, the hope that local MPs Karen Lumley (Redditch) and Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove) Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government, can persuade the housing minister to get the decision reviewed after they ‘called the plan in’.
“There are plenty of flaws in the plan from our point of view, and the most disappointing thing is that with all the concerns the inspector raised, and they were serious concerns, he did not have the courage of his convictions to explore these flaws more,” said Mr Rose.
Campaigners have long argued that Bordesley – also in Bromsgrove district – is a far more suitable location for the massive housing development, which is likely to take 15 years to complete.
In this they have been backed by both MPs who cite it as having far better infrastructure and nearer to employment centres.
“I wrote to the Daily Telegraph because they’d dug up the fact that Sajid Javid was opposed to building at Foxlydiate, accusing him of Nimbyism. However the fact is it’s not a question of not in my back yard, but building in another part of my back yard,” said Mr Rose.
Webheath residents have already been up in arms over the mess and disruption caused by trucks associated with the construction of the 200 house site on Church Road.
“All the dirt, noise, pollution, lorries on the road when children are trying to get to school, we’re going to have that for 15 years,” said Mr Rose.
