Part Two: Centres and Site Allocations (Regulation 18)

1. Brierley Hill Strategic Centre

Introduction

1.1 This chapter sets out how Brierley Hill Strategic Centre will develop and change over the plan period. A vision for Brierley Hill is set out which will be delivered through the Local Plan polices and site allocations up to 2041.

1.2 Brierley Hill Strategic Centre lies within Regeneration Corridor Two, which covers Dudley, Brierley Hill, and Stourbridge, following the proposed new Metro line route. This network will provide first class access to the rest of the Black Country and to Birmingham. The Local Plan expects that development in this corridor will focus on high-quality housing in and around the market town centres of Dudley and Stourbridge and the Strategic Centre of Brierley Hill, whilst preserving and enhancing the historic features and heritage assets within each centre. It is also intended that the corridor will have excellent green infrastructure through enhanced green spaces and parks, increased tree cover, and better links to Saltwells and Fens Pool Nature Reserves.

The Brierley Hill Town Centre Inset Plan Boundary

1.3 This inset chapter covers Brierley Hill Strategic Centre and includes a wider area than the previous Brierley Hill AAP boundary, which provided for a relatively compact Strategic Centre. However, it did not include a number of adjoining areas where opportunities for new growth or redevelopment have arisen since the adoption of the AAP in 2011, or where there is now considered a planning and regeneration aspiration for including that area within the plan boundary.

1.4 Informed by the Brierley Hill Plan (BHP) Issues and Options Report (2022) and the responses received during the consultation on that stage of the plan, the Inset Plan boundary is proposed to be extended to include the following areas;

1. The Chapel Street Housing Estate – this area of Council owned high rise flats and maisonettes lies on the edge of the Brierley Hill High Street shopping area. The blocks have been assessed as having a high investment need to maintain or improve current housing stock condition standards.
2. The Delph Locks Conservation Area – this Conservation Area adjoins the Chapel Street Estate and is on the opposite side of Mill Street to The Boulevard leading into the Merry Hill Centre. However, it is not easily accessible from the surrounding areas and regeneration proposals for the Chapel Street Estate, in particular, could lead to the better integration of this Conservation Area and nature conservation area with the rest of the Strategic Centre.
3. Saltwells Wood – one of the issues that Brierley Hill faces is the lack of green open space within the centre. The exception is Marsh Park, although this is a relatively small area (approx. 1.5hectares) on the fringes of the centre and is not easily accessible from it. Therefore, the plan boundary has been extended to integrate part of Saltwells National Nature Reserve (Saltwells Wood).
4. Northmoor Industrial Estate and area of open space on the opposite side of Moor Street – this small area lies on the edge of Brierley Hill High Street and has several unlet industrial units. The industrial estate has existing housing on three sides, including the planning permission for the conversion of the former Dudley College Annex on Bell St for flats. It is considered that this estate could be appropriately redeveloped for housing and the open space on the opposite side of Moor Street has been identified for redevelopment.

Vision and Objectives

1.5 The vision will be underpinned by a series of objectives, with the overarching objectives set out below.

1. An Economic Objective – supporting the growth of businesses within the plan area and enabling the take up of office space as well as sites for service industries. Making the most of the opportunities presented by the proposed Midland Metro route and stations within the plan area.
2. A Social Objective – allocating land for the delivery of new high quality residential units to grow the Brierley Hill community, providing well designed and safe public spaces, and increasing the amount of open spaces within the plan areas and making them more accessible, especially by foot and bicycle.
3. An Environmental Objective – protecting and enhancing the natural, built, and historic environment of Brierley Hill through: improving air quality; increasing the amount of green infrastructure and biodiversity; minimising noise; adapting to and mitigating for climate change, including the use of renewable energy measures; and enabling sustainable modes of transport.

1.6 As well as the overarching objectives, a series of more detailed objectives will support the delivery of the vision, as detailed below.

1. Setting the up-to-date detailed planning policies and strategy for future development within the Brierley Hill Inset Plan area. Including a strategic steer through the identification of appropriate and deliverable site allocations within the Inset Plan area. The formulation of policies will enable appropriate development to be delivered in a form and quality that is both sustainable and meets the needs of the local community and environment.

1.7 To provide an appropriate, imaginative, sustainable, resilient, and deliverable planning framework for Brierley Hill Strategic Centre that enables the centre to be more than a shopping destination, with an emphasis on providing for the delivery of:

1. new development centred around the proposed new transport infrastructure, particularly the Midland Metro route, with the ability for new development to form around the proposed stops
2. the introduction of new high quality, well-being enhancing and child friendly housing environments
3. the creation and enhancement of well-linked community, leisure, and recreation spaces
4. the consolidation of the office uses particularly at the Waterfront, but also allowing for a diversification of uses at this location where acceptable
5. the diversification of land uses within the centres, particularly aimed at increasing their vitality and viability

1.8 In terms of place shaping, make full use of the opportunities presented by:

1. the Green and Blue Infrastructure, particularly the Dudley and Pensnett Canals, Marsh Park and the nearby Saltwells and Fens Pool Nature Reserves, with the enhancement of redundant canal arms to function as recreational routes and/or wildlife corridors
2. to forge an effective pedestrian link between the Merry Hill Centre and Brierley Hill High Street
3. the proposed Midland Metro and its stations
4. the potential for improvements to the High Street particularly in relation to its designation as a Conservation Area

1.9 In terms of design challenges addressing those posed by:

1. pedestrian/cycle linkages, and wildlife corridors
2. merging the mall at the Merry Hill Centre better into the surrounding urban fabric
3. repurposing existing buildings and sites to deliver new high quality well-being enhancing homes and introducing new high-density housing where appropriate
4. the introduction of sustainable measures, including renewable energy and sustainable drainage
5. significantly increasing the number of trees, tree canopy cover and biodiversity and nature recovery networks within the plan area
6. requiring measures which help prevent and/or mitigate for climate change.