Mayoral candidate pledges to preserve West Midlands greenbelt

Andy Street, West Midlands Mayor

Sacrificing precious greenbelt land in the West Midlands to build new homes would form a key element of any housing policy implemented by Andy Street should he succeed in becoming the region’s mayor later this year.

Conservative candidate Mr Street said protecting the West Midlands greenbelt from residential development was important if the region was to avoid a similar situation to that seen at Sutton Coldfield, where 6,000 new homes are being built on fields near the town, despite huge opposition locally.

The area covered by the West Midlands Combined Authority requires some 165,000 new homes over the next 15 years to keep up with demand.

To help protect the greenbelt, Mr Street said he would propose a ‘brownfield first’ policy to ensure already-developed land was always assessed for development ahead of options which could mean the loss of green open space.

He said: “How can it be right that greenbelt in places like Sutton Coldfield and other parts of the West Midlands is being used for housing at a time when right across the region there are huge pieces of brownfield land that have laid untouched for decades?

“There are at least 1,600 hectares of brownfield sites in the West Midlands, which is about the size of 2,000 football pitches.

“This is why as Mayor, I will commit to a ‘brownfield first’ policy. I pledge to make this a reality in the first case by using the WMCA’s £200m to get brownfield land ready for housebuilding and commercial use.”

He said no guarantees could be given that the greenbelt would be permanently protected, but before any of it was designated for future housing needs then all possible alternatives needed to be explored.

“We need to get these brownfield sites back into use and quickly. This can be done by securing the funding necessary to reclaim lands that may be contaminated,” he said.

“We also need to turn our attention to the 10,000 homes in the region that are currently unoccupied. We need to put more energy into this process and bring them back into use.

“We need to think harder also about the density of our housing, particularly in the towns and cities where the essential infrastructure already exists.”

Changing the use of some buildings, such as redundant offices should also be looked at.

“And we need to work with neighbouring authorities – many of whom have land they are looking to develop for housing – to ensure we can make effective use of it,” added Mr Street.

“Yes, the housing challenge in our region is an important one. But people value our greenbelt and it’s an important part of our quality of life. That’s why I am committing here and now to doing everything we can to protect it, an outcome which will only be possible through a coordinated approach across the region.”

•    The candidates for May’s mayoral election will be put under the spotlight in front of a business audience next month.

TheBusinessDesk.com is holding the hustings at the Birmingham REP on Tuesday, March 7. It is your chance to meet, hear from and quiz the West Midlands mayoral candidates about issues that are key to the business community and the economic success of the region.

The event will be the perfect opportunity to get to know each candidate and their plans for the region ahead of the mayoral election on May 4.

The confirmed candidates* for the event are:

James Burn (Green Party)
Peter Durnell (UK Independence Party)
Beverley Nielsen (Liberal Democrats)
Andy Street (Conservative Party)

*Sion Simon, the Labour candidate, has declined to participate.

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