An appeal for development sites, which will leave “no stone unturned” in a bid to meet future housing and employment needs, is now live.

Dudley Council has launched the call for sites as part of its commitment to produce its own local plan.

The council is looking for any sites that might be suitable for future redevelopment including previously developed land, town centre opportunities and all other available sites. Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Council, said:

"I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, we are committed to leaving no stone unturned in looking for suitable land which can fulfil the needs of this borough. That means suitable to us and local people.

"Dudley is a predominantly an urban area, and we will be looking at urban sites, many of which are brownfield, as we don’t want to develop on rural spaces.

"We must acknowledge that as part of the call for sites we cannot stop people submitting greenbelt or green spaces for consideration. But let me be clear, my priority is still to build on brownfield first and exhaust every possible opportunity to protect greenbelt land."

Dudley borough’s local plan is being developed after the council withdrew from the Black Country Plan last year. The Dudley Local Plan will focus on housing and employment needs which will inform developments and planning decisions in the future, whilst also reflecting local people’s views on the use of green belt land.

The decision to withdraw from the Black Country Plan coincides with the government’s proposed legislation to give local people a bigger say on developments in their towns.

The proposed legislation, which is currently open for consultation, re-emphasises the requirement to focus on brownfield land for housing development and makes it clear councils are under no obligation to review greenbelt for potential housing use.

Details on how to submit a site for consideration can be found at dudley.gov.uk.