Deadline for green belt housing protests on Wolverhampton border

Last chance for Wolverhampton residents to contact South Staffs Council over proposed development to build 1,350 new homes on much-loved green belt land near borders

Campaigners fighting a proposal to build 1,350 new homes on green belt land bordering Wolverhampton have until this Thursday, December 12, to submit any objections they have to South Staffordshire County Council.

Concerned residents have met with Wolverhampton city councillors to stop the possible development of the 284-acre Pennwood Farm/Seven Cornfields site , to the north east of Penn Common, between Colton Hills School, Goldthorn Park and part of Blakenhall.

The land, which also acts as a buffer between Penn and Sedgley, is frequently used for horse riding, dog walking and as farmland.

Councillor Paul Birch (Lab. Blakenhall), who has chaired a series of public meetings in opposition to the proposals, said: "Local residents do not want to see this site developed.

"We live in a city with multiple brownfield sites which could and should be used for new housing. The city should not be forced into a choice between the housing we need, and the green space we love.

"South Staffs Council finalises its public consultation on the South Staffordshire side of the Seven Cornfields development - an area it describes as “Pennwood” - on Thursday, December 12.

"Although South Staff Council has said it wont proceed to planning with this, the fact it is in public consultation needs to addressed. The reason being, were there to be no responses from residents, then there is nothing to stop the council from reversing its decision - on the basis it had no negative responses from the community.

"So this deadline is still critical, despite the Blakenhall side of the development not being looked at by Wolverhampton City Council until next September.

"However, people in Blakenhall should still be making their objections known to South Staffs Council before the deadline this week, because if the South Staffordshire side went ahead and the Blakenhall side didn’t, Blakenhall residents would still be badly affected," he added.

"The land being earmarked for development is 50-50, but two thirds of it falls on the South Staffs side - Pennwood - as the Blakenhall Seven Cornfields side has two protected areas, Bluebell Woods and Ashen Coppice."

No formal planning application has been made for the land, although developers have been invited to submit housing proposals as part of the Black Country Plan, with both Barratt Homes and David Wilson Homes expressing interest.

Pat McFadden, Labour MP for Wolverhampton South East before the disollution of parliament, recently made a presentation to city council leader, Cllr Ian Brookfield (Lab. Fallings Park), of 400 public response forms that had been distributed to residents on the Goldthorn Estate in relation to the Blakenhall side of the proposed development.

There has already been a huge public backlash against the idea, with a petition organised by Wolverhampton Liberal Democrats gathering thousands of signatures.

A recent report from the Office of National Statistics said that urban green spaces raised nearby house prices by an average of £2,500.