West Midlands must resist excessive housing in the countryside

Countryside campaigners in the West Midlands say the Regional Assembly must not cave in to Government pressure to massively increase housing numbers.

An increase on this scale would fuel a greenfield housing bonanza which would wreck prospects for urban regeneration in the region and destroy many acres of countryside, including parts of the Green Belt.

Under pressure from the Government the Regional Assembly is proposing to increase housing numbers above levels it previously said were consistent with a strategy of concentrating development in urban areas. The Assembly is also considering further ways to increase housing numbers to meet inflated Government predictions of demand.

CPRE warns that this will lead to is developers cherry picking greenfield sites in response to market demand, and not to the provision of much needed affordable housing. They also say long-term implications for the countryside, the environment, the Green Belt and for urban regeneration in the region could be catastrophic.

Experience in other parts of the country suggests that housebuilding in the countryside will not be adequately supported by new services and infrastructure, leading to less sustainable communities in the long run.

The proposals would go against the wishes of local communities. When the Regional Assembly consulted on housing options earlier this year, as part of their Regional Spatial Strategy review, local residents and many local authorities gave a massive thumbs-down to pushing the housing figures above 300,000. Many wanted much lower figures.

Peter Langley, Vice Chairman of CPRE West Midlands, said: ‘We support urban regeneration, but there is a tipping point. You reach a level where cities and towns cannot support additional housing and you are forced to release greenfield sites. The Regional Assembly should listen to local people and local authorities. They should send a strong message to Government that high housing numbers and unsustainable communities on green fields go together. Caving in to pressure to release too much housing land in unsuitable locations will not give them influence over Government decisions, it will further weaken their ability to resist the onward march of the bulldozer.’