WEBHEATH Action Group chairman David Rose has admitted ‘it’s all stacked against us’ as the end game nears on plans to build a massive housing scheme – consisting of 3,400 homes – on land by Redditch.
Part of the plan, for 2,800 homes, was passed by Bromsgrove district council’s cabinet on Wednesday night with the remainder going before Redditch borough council’s executive committee on Tuesday (January 17).
The development, part of the local plan, will then go to the full councils of both authorities where it is likely they will be fully adopted.
The only hope is that the plan will be ‘called in’ by the housing minister next week after local MPs Karen Lumley (Redditch) and Sajid Javid (Bromsgrove) voiced their objections, indicating Bordesley is a much better location.
Mr Rose said political will had outweighed commonsense and local democracy.
“Giving developers carte blanche to build wherever they want to is just not on. The Government is putting pressure on local authorities to build just anywhere – they just don’t care where as long as they put up lots of houses,” he said.
He also hit out at the past actions of Bromsgrove district council which has the land available to build on that Redditch, a borough, lacks.
“Why is 2009 in was Bordesley the best place to build and Webheath the worst while in 2010 with the new (coalition) government it was evident that there had been a wind change?” said Mr Rose.
“Yet nothing had changed at all, the geography hadn’t changed, in fact if anything the infrastructure has made an even stronger case for Bordesley.”
Campaigners say building between Webheath and Bentley village will benefit Bromsgrove town centre while building at Bordesley would narrow the green belt between Redditch and Alvechurch and other district villages.
The only other hope for protesters would be a judicial review – costing in the region of £10,000 ramping up to between £50,000 and £100,000 for a second hearing.
