More than 200 residents and stakeholders have had their say on how land across Dudley borough could be used for housing and employment in the future.

Draft proposals for the Dudley Local Plan were published at the end of last year after council bosses had vowed to protect greenbelt land from developers.

Stakeholders were asked to comment on the draft plan and more than 200 responses were received.

The responses will be reviewed and used to inform the next stage of the Dudley Local Plan which will be published for a further consultation in the autumn this year. Councillor Patrick Harley, leader of Dudley Council, said:

"Thank you to those who have taken the time to comment on our draft local plan. It sets out our commitment to use brownfield land to meet our housing and employment needs, which I hope has been welcomed by local people and alleviated any concerns they had about the use of greenbelt land.

"We will bring the next stage of the plan for a further public consultation later this year, before the plan is submitted to government in 2025 for an independent examination."

The draft plan states that Dudley can meet the majority of its housing need in urban areas and on brownfield sites. It concludes “exceptional circumstances” are not triggered to justify green belt release for new housing development.

In addition, it pledges to allocate Corbett Meadow as a Local Greenspace designation to protect it for future generations.

Five brownfield sites have been identified as “priority” for housing and are expected to deliver nearly 2,000 of the 11,954 homes needed by 2041.

There are two sites in Brierley Hill, with 300 homes earmarked for Daniels Land/The Embankment and 600 on land at Waterfront Way/Level Street. In Dudley town centre, 120 homes are proposed for King Street/Flood Street and 280 for the Portersfield site on Trindle Road/Hall Street.

The stages for the development of the plan can be found at dudley.gov.uk.