Showdown on green space set for planning enquiry

Campaigners battling to save a Stourbridge beauty spot are set for a showdown with developers who want to build on the land.

Corbett Meadow in Amblecote has been the subject of a long-running campaign to prevent it being sold-off for housing.

The debate is heading for Dudley Council House for discussion at a hearing on the proposed new Dudley Local Plan hosted by the government’s Planning Inspectorate on October 9.

Under the proposed local plan Corbett Meadow, off Vicarage Road, would be designated an area of Local Green Space (LGS) which would provide extra protection from development.

The stakes got higher after campaigners were recently informed Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, which owns the land, had confirmed its intention to sell Corbett Meadow for development.

The Corbett Meadow Action Group (CMAG) argues the meadow is a key element of the landscape and has historic significance as well as being a valuable haven for recreation and wildlife.

In submissions to the planning enquiry, CMAG said: “That Corbett Meadow is special to the local community is amply demonstrated by the outcry over its proposed development, the weight of objections that were made against the subsequent planning application and the explicit support that its designation as LGS received when first mooted.”

Developers Persimmon and Charles Church Homes claim the Dudley Local Plan does not allocate enough land to meet expected housing needs and protecting Corbett Meadow goes against national planning policy.

A statement from Claremont Planning on behalf of the developers for the enquiry said: “Whilst it is recognised that the site is a locally/regionally designated ecological site, it is maintained that an appropriate development proposal could come forward that retains those parts of the site that are most significant from a biodiversity perspective, and secures enhancements and the long-term management of the site, alongside appropriate residential development and public open space.”

Planning Inspector Louise Nurser is carrying out the detailed examination of the Dudley Local Plan which will shape development policy in the borough until 2041.

The council will only adopt the plan when the inspector is satisfied it has been prepared correctly and is consistent with national policies.