Bradley attended Cllr Adam Kent’s ‘packed’ public meeting as the pair join forces to fight back against overdevelopment in Wythall.
Around 80 local residents attended the public meeting at Hollywood Golf Club last Thursday (March 19th).
The meeting, which was organised by Cllr Adam Kent, was held in the wake of a ‘barrage’ of speculative housing applications across Wythall.
Developers have been given the green light by the Government to build over the greenbelt following the 85% increase in Bromsgrove and the Villages’ housebuilding target whilst reducing Birmingham’s target by more than 30%.
The Government is mandating that the local council delivers the new target it has set without first providing communities with the investment they need in infrastructure.
At the meeting, residents had opportunity to raise their concerns with their local County Councillor and local MP. They encouraged residents to make their opposition known by commenting on the planning applications which have been submitted to Bromsgrove District Council.
Wythall is also being impacted by cross-border development too, with more houses being built in Solihull adding pressure to Wythall’s infrastructure.
Following the meeting, Bradley said:
“The message from the public meeting was loud and clear: Wythall says no to overdevelopment.
“The village is facing a barrage of speculative housing applications because developers have been emboldened by the Government’s housing policy.
“My constituents and I aren’t NIMBYs. We all accept the need for new houses, but not on the scale the Government is imposing on us. The Government should build on brownfield land first and provide communities with the infrastructure that will be needed before any houses are built.”
Cllr Adam Kent said:
“It’s quite clear from the meeting that the residents of Wythall see the current avalanche of planning applications as deeply concerning both in terms of scale and inappropriate locations with a distinct lack of infrastructure.
“With over a dozen potential sites already in play we could see planning applications increasing the size of Wythall by over 60%. Coupled with large scale developments in Solihull on the border with Wythall and we have a major problem looming, my call is to Bromsgrove District Council to open immediate discussions with neighbouring South Warwickshire to look at a far more sustainable solution to the housing needs in this area and at a scale that is appropriate not at the level that is seen now with massive speculative applications from developers working to a short political timeframe.”
