Ever since I was first elected I have been fighting to protect the greenbelt.
I responded to the Government’s consultation and highlighted the flawed formula used which resulted in an 85% increase in Bromsgrove’s target.
I ramped up my efforts to protect the greenbelt by launching a Parliamentary petition to demand the Government justifies the flawed formula used to calculate the 85% increase in Bromsgrove’s housing target to rebalance the housing target so that Birmingham takes its fair share.
It also demanded that the planned 85% increase in Bromsgrove District’s housing target is reversed, in addition to the reversal of the reduction in Birmingham’s housing target to ensure the burden is shared in a fair and proportionate way and only allow new houses to be built when the accompanying infrastructure is provided.
The petition was launched in the wake of the publication of Bromsgrove District Council's Draft Local Plan for future housing development which has had to be revised following the Government’s 85% increase in Bromsgrove District’s mandatory housing target.
Bromsgrove District is 89% greenbelt and 79% rural, but the Government has made the decision to reduce Birmingham’s target by 31% - despite the city having at least 140 hectares of brownfield land that could be built on.
More than 5,900 people signed my Parliamentary petition and I have now presented it in the House of Commons.
Following the presentation of the petition, the text of the petition is sent to the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government as it is the Government department responsible for the subject matter of the petition. The department must then respond within two months.
In responding to my petition, the Government has failed to listen to the people of Bromsgrove and the Villages who don’t want to see their greenbelt disappear forever. What’s even more frustrating is that this is all happening in the name of a flawed formula.
It’s quite clear that the Government’s talk of protecting the countryside is entirely hollow. The Housing Minister has emboldened housing developers to build on the greenbelt, and it seems there’s no way to stop him whilst this Government remains in power.
There’s still time for the Government to reverse the disastrous increase in our housing target, and I met with the Housing Minister to once again make the case for the 85% increase in our housing target to be reversed.
I have had one victory in the fight to save our greenbelt. The so-called Groveley Garden Village proposals have been scrapped. After pressure from residents and I, Bournville Village Trust have confirmed that “no proposals remain under consideration” and the proposals are “no longer proceeding.”
Although this battle has been won, the fight continues to protect our precious greenbelt across Bromsgrove and the Villages following the Government’s 85% increase in our housebuilding target.
I will continue to challenge the Government’s flawed housing formula used to calculate our housebuilding target, encourage development on brownfield sites and urge the Government to build in our cities where the need is most great.
To continue the fight, I've launched a further Parliamentary petition that demands the Government builds houses on brownfield land first and brings empty homes back into use. Click here to sign it.
