Part One: Spatial Strategy and Policies (Regulation 19)

Object

Representation ID: 1192

Received: 25/11/2024

Respondent: Goldfinch Town Planning Services (West Midlands)

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Land South of Racecourse Lane

1.Land located south of Racecourse Lane, Norton, Stourbridge should be removed from the Green Belt boundary within the Local Plan Review, and should be allocated as a major new sustainable urban extension to deliver major new housing development for the various reasons highlighted below. This is a key issue and forms the main focus of Goldfinch Town Planning Services Local Plan Representation (November 2024).

2. Goldfinch Town Planning Services continues to have significant planning policy concerns that Dudley Council’s Planning Policy Team is accommodating and taking forward completely undeliverable and unrealistic housing site allocations within the emerging Local Plan Review (2024/ 2025), which directly conflict with deliverability-focused guidance set out in paragraphs 16 (indent b) and 35 (indent c) of the Revised NPPF (2023). Paragraph 16 (indent b) of the Revised NPPF (2023) is perfectly clear in its view that: “…Plans should (indent b) be prepared positively, in a way that is aspirational but deliverable…” The tests of Soundness for Local Plan preparation set out in paragraph 35 (indent c) of the Revised NPPF (2023) are perfectly clear that: “…Local plans and spatial development strategies are examined to assess whether they have been prepared in accordance with legal and procedural requirements, and whether they are sound. Plans are ‘sound’ if they are: (indent c) Effective – deliverable over the plan period…”
3. Land located south of Racecourse Lane, Norton, Stourbridge should be fully removed from the Green Belt boundary within the Local Plan Review (2024/
2025) and should be allocated as a major new sustainable urban extension to deliver thousands of new homes to help relieve pressures and protect the environmental quality of the Dudley Borough’s inner urban area. Developing this site for major new housing development would help to boost the supply of new housing in a highly sustainable and deliverable site location - consistent with guidance reinforced within paragraph 60 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).
Robust, defendable and up-to-date photographic evidence contained in this Local Plan (October 2024) Representation to the council’s Regulation 19 consultation report, and our earlier representations made to the council’s Regulation 18 consultation report, demonstrates that the Green Belt farmland located south of Racecourse Lane, Norton, Stourbridge is of a very low quality from a Green Belt landscape perspective, climate change resilience and mitigation perspective (e.g. given its intensively farmed character and severe shortage of existing tree cover) and biodiversity perspective, and has no significant or special historic environment landscape value. It forms an area of sterile intensively farmed countryside, where many features have since been removed from the farmland rural landscape over the last 70 years, due to intensive farming practices. Including miles of previous extensive hedgerow networks crossing pasture farmland, mature veteran and ancient trees from



hedgerow networks, removal of woodland copses, lowland heathland, wetlands, etc. This area has no special landscape merit. It should therefore be fully removed from the Green Belt boundary and developed for a major new housing-led sustainable urban extension south of Stourbridge.

5. This site meets a range of sustainability criteria for major new housing development, given its immediate proximity to already long-established major residential communities located within the Norton area (on its northern boundary), its excellent access to good quality public transport connections, and its close proximity to a main town centre location - Stourbridge Town Centre. Importantly, releasing this area from the Green Belt boundary within the Local Plan Review and developing this area for major new housing development would also help to relieve significant urban cramming pressures and poor-quality environmental conditions currently affecting the environmental quality of the heavily constrained and congested Dudley Borough inner urban area. As well as helping to significantly improve the resilience of the inner urban area to cope with future climate change pressures as discussed further below.
6. Given that the Green Belt farmland located south of Racecourse Lane, Norton, Stourbridge has no special rural landscape merit or historic environment landscape value, it does not therefore meet and robustly satisfy the Green Belt purpose as set out under paragraph 143 (indent d) of the Revised National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) (December 2023). Continuing to defend this site on Green Belt landscape planning policy grounds is not a robust or defendable planning policy position to take within the emerging Local Plan Review going forwards.
7. Paragraph 143 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF states that: “…Green Belt serves five purposes: (indent d) to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns…”
8. In preparing the council’s emerging Local Plan Review, the council’s planning policy team has failed to shape into its plan-making approach the significant shift in central government (London) policy which now provides increasing levels of planning policy weight and support for developing lower quality areas of Green Belt for major new housing development. The Plan-making approach being taken forwards by the council’s planning policy team within the Regulation
19 Local Plan consultation report (October 2024) therefore strongly conflicts with soundness tests set out under paragraph 35 (indents a and b) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023) which confirm that: “…Local plans and spatial development strategies are examined to assess whether they have been prepared in accordance with legal and procedural requirements, and whether
they are sound. Plans are ‘sound’ if they are: (indent a) Positively prepared – providing a strategy which, as a minimum, see ks to me e t th e a rea ’s o b ject ively assessed needs… (indent b) Justified – an appropriate strategy, taking into account the reasonable alternatives, and based on proportionate evidence…”
9. The position is clear, the council’s emerging Local Plan Review is not positively prepared and is not based on the most proportionate evidence – given its substantial planning policy failure to reflect the very recent planning policy shift towards utilising lower quality parts of the Green Belt countryside for major new housing development, introduced by the recently elected new Labour



government (London). The emerging Local Plan Review is failing to reflect the very latest central government (London) housing and Green Belt policy. The emerging Local Plan Review (2024) is not based therefore based on proportionate evidence and therefore conflicts with planning policy tests specified under paragraph 35 (indent b) and 31 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).
10. The plan-making approach also conflicts with guidance set out under paragraph
31 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023) which confirms that: “…The preparation and review of all policies should be underpinned by relevant and up-to-date evidence…” The plan-making approach is not up-to-date given its substantial failure to reflect very recent changes towards Green Belt policy as discussed above.

. Need: There is a NEED for this development proposal (to deliver a major new build housing-led urban extension on land located south of Racecourse Lane, Norton, Stourbridge) given the severe and chronic housing shortage currently affecting the Dudley Metropolitan Borough. For a number of year’s the borough has suffered from long-standing housing shortfalls and significant delivery problems associated with bringing forward major urban brownfield land within the inner urban area for major new housing development. Due to significant site constraints, difficult ground conditions, flood risk pressures, contaminated land, mine shafts, totally excessive and completely unrealistic historic environment expectations, onerous affordable housing and CIL planning policy requirements, and significant vehicular access problems. The land located at Old Wharf Road on the northern edge of Stourbridge Town Centre and Daniels Land located opposite the Copthorne Hotel in Brierley Hill Strategic Centre provide robust and defendable evidence and are both good examples of the site constraints affecting existing major housing site allocations (identified in previous Local Plan Reviews) within the inner urban area. Which have been allocated for housing for a number of years and already have planning consent for a number of years. But which have both consistently failed to come forward over the last 23 years.

Goldfinch Town Planning Services would suggest that the emerging Local Plan Review could be significantly strengthened and improved from a nature conservation new habitat creation planning policy perspective, by emphasising the important role that new high quality housing development schemes can play in helping to promote and deliver new on-site nature conservation habitat features, integral for helping to support the delivery of Biodiversity Net Gain (BNG) across the Dudley Metropolitan Borough.
54. Up-to-date photographic evidence within this Local Plan Representation provides robust and defendable evidence to demonstrate that extensive areas of Green Belt farmland located south of Racecourse Lane, Norton, Stourbridge has particularly suffered from significant environmental damage as a result of
70 years of successive intensive farming practices. Which have all resulted in the removal of miles of hedgerow networks, removal of woodland copses and blanket tree removal across vast areas of southern Green Belt countryside, loss of wetland habitat features, mature veteran and ancient trees, wildflower meadows, etc. This has all created a vast, open, sterile, prairie style “severely ecologically damaged and heavily eroded rural landscape,” which now has no significant biodiversity interest.
55. There is therefore an significant opportunity to replace some of the threatened wildlife habitat features that have already been lost from this area of countryside, within a future new-build residential site layout coming forward as part of a future major housing-led sustainable urban extension, to help deliver net gains for biodiversity, consistent with the planning policy approach strongly encouraged in paragraphs 8 (indent c), 124 (indent a), 180 (indent d), 185 (indent b), and paragraph 186 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December
2023).
56. Guidance in paragraph 186 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023) is perfectly clear in its view that development proposals whose primary objective is to conserve or enhance biodiversity should be strongly supported by Local Planning Authorities.
57. This biodiversity enhancement approach discussed above is also strongly supported and encouraged by guidance from the Birmingham and Black Country Local Biodiversity Action Plan (BAP), which, alongside the Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust, are both highly supportive of new build housing development proposals which include measures which actively seek to support the recovery of vulnerable and highly fragile populations of Priority Wildlife Species, and the recovery of priority wildlife habitat features across the wider Birmingham and Black Country sub-region. These measures are also likely to be supported by ecologists working within Dudley Council’s own Countryside Services Team and by ecologists working within the Council’s Planning Policy and Development Management Teams.
58. Dudley Council’s Planning Policy Team cannot continue to ignore planning
policy guidance set out within paragraph 186 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF



(December 2023), which confirms that: “…Development whose primary objective is to conserve or enhance biodiversity should be supported; while opportunities to improve biodiversity in and around developments should be integrated as part of their design, especially where this can secure measurable net gains for biodiversity or enhance public access to nature where this is appropriate…”
59. There is therefore a sufficiently robust, clear and compelling planning policy case to release the area of Green Belt farmland located south of Racecourse Lane, Norton, Stourbridge for a major new housing-led sustainable urban extension, in order to help deliver substantial new nature conservation habitat creation/ green infrastructure benefits and climate change resilience features (via significant new tree planting and wetland habitat creation features), within an area of currently severely ecologically damaged intensive farmland.

Object

Representation ID: 1200

Received: 25/11/2024

Respondent: Goldfinch Town Planning Services (West Midlands)

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Evidence base
We object to the continued poor quality of the evidence base being used by the council’s planning policy team to support Local Plan preparation.

The council has not even got an up-to-date, defendable or sufficiently robust Green Infrastructure (GI study) background technical evidence base study document in place to support the emerging Local Plan Review preparation. This is an alarming situation given that important wildlife sites directly located within strategically important landscape-scale green infrastructure networks (wildlife corridors) are being actively promoted for complete destruction for new housing development within the emerging Local Plan Review. The plan-making approach strongly conflicts with green infrastructure/ wildlife corridor focused guidance set out under paragraph 185 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023). We continue to maintain our view that the inner urban area is being completely over-loaded within increasingly unsustainable levels of new development, in direct conflict with the “Sustainability” tests of Soundness set out under paragraph 35 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023). The council is taking forward an insufficiently robust, not fit-for-purpose and not planning policy compliant Local Plan Review forwards to the later Examination in Public (EIP) stage.

The Sustainability Appraisal (SA) which provides the critically important planning policy foundations underpinning and supporting Dudley Council’s emerging Local Plan Review (2023/ 2024) is not being informed by sufficiently robust, defendable, planning policy compliant or credible green infrastructure background technical evidence. In particular, robustly-based wildlife corridor focused green infrastructure assessments (GI studies) as expected by paragraph 185 of the Revised NPPF (2023). The SA process has also failed to robustly consider reasonable alternatives in respect of releasing land in lower quality areas of Green Belt countryside within the Dudley Borough for new housing development. Finally, the emerging SA has failed to shape into its approach the substantial recent planning policy shift introduced by the recently elected new Labour government, which has placed increasing planning policy emphasis on releasing lower quality areas of Green Belt for major new housing development. Any reasonable person would therefore take the view that the SA's assumptions are therefore based on flawed, insufficiently robust, not defendable and missing evidence. The council’s planning policy team “Needs to get the balance right” and address these substantial failings within the SA approach. This is all now too late for this now advanced Reg 19 Local Plan Review. The spatial distribution approach towards new development within the emerging Local Plan Review is not based on a platform of sufficiently robust or defendable evidence. The LPA is taking forward an unsound Local Plan Review which fails to satisfy various tests of soundness specified under paragraph 35 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).

The emerging Sustainability Appraisal (SA) supporting background technical evidence base accompanying the emerging Local Plan Review and policies contained within the Local Plan Review are both currently failing to address the critical climate change emergency now affecting the Dudley Metropolitan Borough inner urban area, by continuing to support a spatial planning policy approach that is forcing through 10,470 new homes solely within the inner urban area.

Object

Representation ID: 1201

Received: 25/11/2024

Respondent: Goldfinch Town Planning Services (West Midlands)

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

. The approach being taken within the emerging Local Plan will worsen the effects of the Black Country Urban Heat Island Effect and cause increased levels of surface water run-off (creating flood risk pressures), given that greenfield sites (green space vegetated surfaces) within the inner urban area will be replaced by heavily urbanising brick, concrete, tile and macadam surfacing. Making the surface water run-off position far worse. We have concerns that the Council’s Planning Policy Team appears to have no understanding of the urban heat island effect concept or surface water run-off issues.

The Council’s Planning Policy and Development Management Teams now “Need to get the balance right” in relation to how the LPA responds to the critical climate change emergency within the Dudley Metropolitan Borough. This is relevant given that the Met Office reported during early January 2024 that the UK experienced its second warmest year on record during the year 2023. These global records are bringing the world closer to breaching key international climate targets.

Object

Representation ID: 1202

Received: 25/11/2024

Respondent: Goldfinch Town Planning Services (West Midlands)

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

The LPA is not promoting climate change resilience measures within its proposed spatial planning policy approach being taken towards the distribution of new development. We are alarmed that the council’s planning policy team considers it appropriate to re-develop established urban woodlands within heavily constrained urban areas for new housing development. The plan making approach being taken forward by the LPA strongly conflicts with climate change resilience focused national planning guidance set out under paragraphs
157 to 159 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).

Object

Representation ID: 1203

Received: 25/11/2024

Respondent: Goldfinch Town Planning Services (West Midlands)

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Greenfield allocations

There is an increasing shortage and significant under-supply of urban green space natural green space areas, particularly within heavily urbanised parts of Halesowen, Stourbridge, central Dudley, Brierley Hill and Cradley Heath areas. This important urban green space planning policy issue has not been sufficiently taken into account by the LPA. The plan-making approach is therefore insufficiently robust, not planning policy compliant, not fit-for-purpose, potentially vulnerable to later challenge, and contains significant gaps in green infrastructure focused technical evidence base coverage. The emerging Local Plan Review is promoting environmentally damaging and unsustainable patterns of development within the local area.
15. Dudley Council’s Planning Policy Team has completely neglected and disregarded the importance of ecological networks within heavily urbanised areas within its Local Plan preparation approach. The now advanced preparation stage emerging Local Plan Review (Reg 19) (Autumn 2024) is not based on a platform of sufficiently robust, fit-for-purpose or credible evidence,
and fails the “Sustainability” tests of Soundness set out under paragraph 35
(indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).

33. There has been a significant material change and huge shift in material planning policy circumstances now facing the local area given the issues discussed above. Dudley Council’s Planning Policy Team has failed to shape these critically important issues into its Local Plan preparation, which is now at the final and very advanced Regulation 19 stage. The emerging now advanced Local Plan Review is “not Positively prepared”, does not take into account “Reasonable alternatives” and is not based “on Proportionate evidence” - therefore failing various ‘Soundness’ tests specified under paragraph 35 (indents a and b) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).
34. There is absolutely no point in Dudley Council declaring a climate change and ecological emergency and taking forward a climate change action plan, if the council’s planning policy team has absolutely no intention whatsoever of ever promoting sustainable patterns of new development within its own emerging Local Plan Reviews (Development Plan Reviews).
35. We are concerned that Dudley Council has made a pledge within its climate change and ecological emergency to improve the climate change resilience of the local area, without a clear, effective and committed pathway to delivery. This is resulting in the delivery of a Local Plan without a Plan. The council should not be supporting the destruction of sensitive urban woodlands within heavily urbanised parts of the borough, if it is serious about delivering on its multiple and varied climate change resilience pledges. The failure to consider low quality Green Belt locations for new housing development within the council’s Local Plan Review is making the climate change resilience position far worse, given that huge areas of sensitive urban green space areas and urban woodlands are being proposed for destruction within the inner urban area within the council’s Local Plan Review. These urban green space areas provide a vital contribution towards helping to reduce flood risk by reducing surface water run-off pressures during severe rainfall storm events, removing and helping control levels of urban air pollution, promoting carbon storage and helping to reduce the worsening effects of the Black Country Urban Heat Island Effect (promote urban cooling) during summer heatwaves. These urban green space areas also play a key role in helping to tackle the long-standing “out-of- control adult and childhood obesity crisis and epidemic” which continues to affect the Dudley Metropolitan Borough as discussed further above. Based on recent press reports coverage in local press arenas, it is also noted that the council is under severe financial pressure and financial strain with the risk of declaring itself effectively bankrupt, which is likely to potentially further hinder its ability to deliver on its various multiple climate change pledges. There still however needs to be a detailed audit and review undertaken by the LPA to identify why specific failings have taken place in respect of the council’s climate change resilience action plan, and failure to deliver on the multiple pledges made. The council cannot continue to let down local communities in respect of these important issues.
36. The loss of extensive urban woodlands and other natural green space areas within the Dudley Metropolitan Borough inner urban area as a result of an environmentally irresponsible proposed severe urban cramming spatial development distribution planning policy approach being taken forwards within the council’s emerging Local Plan Review as discussed in extensive detail above, will materially harm and damage the residential amenity of established residential occupiers within long established residential communities that directly overlook these various natural green space sites, being proposed for



development. This will result in irreversible harm (given the severe urban green space landscape impacts), damage and adversely affect their residential amenity and outlook. The proposals being taken forwards within the now advanced Regulation 19 (final Local Plan consultation) emerging Local Plan Review will therefore materially harm the ability of these established residential occupiers to be able to continue to enjoy their homes and property peacefully, therefore conflicting with protecting their human rights as set out under Article
1 of the Human Rights Act (1998). The significant increase in harmful levels of traffic-related urban air pollution will also conflict in protecting thousands of local residents ‘Right to Life’ in densely populated parts of the borough, therefore contravening their human rights as specified under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act (1998). The proposed spatial planning policy distribution approach towards new development being forced-through by the LPA as discussed above, will also make thousands of local residents living within heavily urbanised parts of the borough more vulnerable to the more severe effects of climate change – which will be significantly amplified and more intense within heavily urbanised parts of the borough. Including surface water run-off flash flooding incidents, the effects of urban air pollution on health, and hotter summer temperatures. The position is perfectly clear, the emerging Local Plan Review is having a damaging impact on the Human Rights of those local residents who live within densely populated and heavily urbanised parts of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough.

. The LPA is not promoting climate change resilience measures within its proposed spatial planning policy approach being taken towards the distribution of new development. We are alarmed that the council’s planning policy team considers it appropriate to re-develop established urban woodlands within heavily constrained urban areas for new housing development. The plan making approach being taken forward by the LPA strongly conflicts with climate change resilience focused national planning guidance set out under paragraphs
157 to 159 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).
61. There is an increasing shortage and significant under-supply of urban green space natural green space areas, particularly within heavily urbanised parts of Halesowen, Stourbridge, central Dudley, Brierley Hill and Cradley Heath areas. This important urban green space planning policy issue has not been sufficiently taken into account by the LPA within the policy shaping exercise or the accompanying Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) and Sustainability Appraisal (SA). The plan-making approach is therefore insufficiently robust, not planning policy compliant, not fit-for-purpose, potentially vulnerable to later challenge, and contains significant gaps in green infrastructure focused technical evidence base coverage. The emerging Local Plan Review is promoting environmentally damaging and unsustainable patterns of development within the local area.
62. The Local Plan Review policy shaping and approach taken towards new housing site allocations is not supported by a sufficiently robust and up-to-date Green Space Audit (Open Space Needs Assessment), contrary to guidance within paragraph 102 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).
63. Dudley Council’s Planning Policy Team has completely neglected and disregarded the importance of ecological networks within heavily urbanised areas within its Local Plan preparation approach. The now advanced preparation stage emerging Local Plan Review (Reg 19) (Autumn 2024) is not based on a platform of sufficiently robust, fit-for-purpose or credible evidence, and fails the “Sustainability” tests of Soundness set out under paragraph 35 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).

Object

Representation ID: 1205

Received: 25/11/2024

Respondent: Goldfinch Town Planning Services (West Midlands)

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

. Goldfinch Town Planning Services continues to have concerns that the council’s planning policy team continues to take forward undeliverable housing site allocations within its emerging Local Plan Review, in direct conflict with deliverability-focused guidance set out under paragraphs 16 (indent b) and 35 (indent c) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023). The tests of soundness for Local Plan preparation are set out within paragraph 35 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023). Paragraph 35 (indent c) of the Revised NPPF (2023) is perfectly clear in its view that: “…Local plans and spatial development strategies are examined to assess whether they have been prepared in accordance with legal and procedural requirements, and whether they are sound. Plans are ‘sound’ if they are: (indent c) Effective – deliverable over the plan period…”

18. The significant imbalance in the spatial distribution of new housing development across the Dudley Metropolitan Borough being brought forward through the council’s emerging Local Plan Review (2024/ 2025) needs to be urgently addressed by Dudley Council’s Planning Policy Team, within a significantly more heavily revised, more fit-for-purpose and environmentally sustainable planning policy approach. Heavily urbanised parts of the Halesowen, Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and central Dudley urban areas in particular are being completely over-loaded within increasingly unsustainable levels and environmentally damaging patterns of new development. Heavily urbanised parts of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough are already at maximum capacity levels and cannot accommodate any further new development growth within the inner urban area. Some Green Belt release should therefore be considered by the council’s planning policy team within lower quality parts of the Green Belt, to reflect the significant recent planning policy shift in central government (London) planning guidance. Within its current plan-making approach, the Regulation 19 consultation report (October 2024) is currently failing the “Sustainability” tests of soundness as specified under paragraph 35 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023). Given the emerging Local Plan Reviews ongoing refusal and continued failure to promote the most environmentally sustainable patterns of new housing development.

The significant spatial imbalance in the distribution of new development across the Dudley Metropolitan Borough being taken forwards through the Local Plan Review is highly concerning. The environmental quality of the urban area is being severely damaged as part of a seemingly increasingly more desperate urban cramming planning policy approach.

. To help clarify the position for Dudley Council, put quite simply, there is a clear limit to how much new development a specific part of the urban area can continue to accommodate. We have concerns that the Council and its town planners, surveyors, transport engineers and urban regeneration specialists are all still failing to grasp these critically important and basic issues. The Halesowen, Stourbridge, Brierley Hill and central Dudley urban areas continue to be over-loaded with increasingly unsustainable patterns of new development, which is damaging to the local environmental quality, and damaging to the health and well-being of hundreds of thousands of local residents who live within heavily urbanised and densely-populated parts of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough. The emerging Local Plan Review is failing to promote the most sustainable patterns of new housing development in direct conflict with the “Sustainability” tests of Soundness as specified under paragraph 35 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).

. The proposed Plan-making approach is failing to respond effectively to wildlife corridor focused guidance set out under paragraph 185 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023) which reinforces that: “…To protect and enhance biodiversity…, plans should (indent a) Identify, map and safeguard components of local wildlife-rich habitats and wider ecological network, including the hierarchy of international, national and locally designated sites of importance for biodiversity; wildlife corridors and stepping-stones that connect them; and areas identified by national and local partnerships for habitat management, enhancement, restoration or creation; and (indent b) promote the conservation, restoration and enhancement of priority habitats, ecological networks and the protection and recovery of priority species; and identify and pursue opportunities for securing measurable net gains for biodiversity…”
22. The council’s planning policy team is promoting irresponsible patterns of new development and damaging the environmental quality of the Dudley Borough inner urban area, just to appease local politicians in respect of Green Belt matters. Heavily urbanised parts of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough continue to suffer from a failed, naive and ineffective planning policy protection approach.
23. The position is perfectly clear, Dudley Council is not promoting the most environmentally sustainable patterns of new development within borough within its emerging Local Plan Review, and the approach being taken by the Council on these matters is therefore in direct conflict with a range of sustainable development focused guidance as reinforced within paragraphs 7, 8, 10, 11, 16 (indent a), 35 (indent d), 38, and 157 – 159 and 185 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).

The Council’s Planning Policy Team is not promoting climate change resilience measures within its proposed spatial planning policy approach being taken towards the distribution of new development within the emerging Local Plan Review (2024/ 2025). We are alarmed that the council’s planning policy team considers it appropriate to re-develop established urban woodlands within heavily constrained urban areas for new housing development – within the inner urban area, and develop other important urban green space areas within the inner urban area for new housing, just to save some low quality Green Belt locations. The plan making approach being taken forward by the LPA strongly conflicts with climate change resilience focused national planning guidance set out under paragraphs 157 to 159 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023). The
emerging Local Plan Review is failing the “Sustainability” tests of Soundness
as specified under paragraph 35 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December
2023).

No transparent transport assessments have been generated to support the various proposed new housing site allocations being brought forward across the urban area through the council’s emerging Local Plan Review (2024). The transport evidence is obscure and far too vague, and therefore provides insufficiently robust evidence. This is particularly relevant given the completely unsafe, tightly constrained and dangerous character (from a highway safety perspective) of many of the urban sites being brought forward for new housing development through the Local Plan Review. The position is clear, the proposed Plan-making approach being taken forward by the LPA within its emerging Local Plan Review is not based on proportionate evidence and therefore fails soundness tests specified under paragraph 35 (indent b) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).

The proposed urban cramming of 10,471 new homes (over the shelf-life of the new Local Plan period extending up to the year 2041) solely within the inner urban area will result in the loss of extensive areas of sensitive urban green space areas which currently provide a critically important outdoor recreational resource, serving heavily populated urban areas. These urban green space areas located on the doorstep of local communities play a critically important role in helping to promote more physically active healthy lifestyles. The proposed urban cramming approach being taken towards housing delivery within Dudley Council’s emerging Local Plan Review (2024/ 2025) will make the out-of-control obesity crisis which continues to disproportionately affect the Dudley Metropolitan Borough and neighbouring Walsall far worse. The proposed Plan-making approach being taken forwards by Dudley Council’s Planning Policy Team is therefore making the out-of-control local obesity crisis even far worse and failing to promote the most environmentally sustainable patterns of new development - in direct conflict with the ‘Sustainability’ tests of soundness as set out under paragraph 35 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023). The plan-making approach being taken forwards by Dudley Council’s planning policy team is also conflicting with a range of health-focused guidance set out within paragraphs 8 (indent b), 96 (indent c) and 102 of the
Revised NPPF (December 2023). The council is damaging the local area

The scale of excessive and completely disproportionate new residential development growth being proposed solely within the Dudley Borough inner urban area is promoting inappropriate, damaging and unsustainable patterns of development within the local area. Based on 4 cars per household, the proposed 10,470 number new build residential dwellings being proposed over the lifespan of the new Local Plan (extending up to the year 2041) will generate an additional 41,880 vehicle trips on the already heavily constrained, heavily pressured and heavily congested highway networks within the Dudley Borough inner urban area. Which already suffers from severe levels of traffic congestion. The inner urban area various housing site allocations will result in enormous adverse residential amenity impacts affecting established local communities living within heavily urbanised parts of the borough. As well as result in



enormous adverse impacts on the heavily constrained highway networks which are unable to accommodate and cope with this significant scale of new traffic growth. The proposals being taken forwards and forced-through within the Regulation 19 Local Plan consultation report are just completely unsustainable. Within the Local Plan Review, the council should be exploring the release of Green Belt land south of Stourbridge for major new housing development in order to help relieve pressures within the inner urban area. The current plan- making approach is failing the “Sustainability” tests of Soundness set out under paragraph 35 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023). The Council’s Planning Policy Teams continued refusal to consider reasonable alternatives to the growth strategy (e.g. considering Green Belt release south of Stourbridge) is also failing Soundness tests set out under paragraph 35 (indent b – failure to consider reasonable alternatives) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).

Object

Representation ID: 1206

Received: 25/11/2024

Respondent: Goldfinch Town Planning Services (West Midlands)

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Covid 19

The global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) previous recent lock-down restrictions across the UK has highlighted and placed into very sharp focus the continued importance and relevance of urban green space areas to the health and well-being of local communities – from both a physical and mental health well-being perspective. These important “pandemic -related factors” have been given absolutely no consideration or material planning policy weight whatsoever by the council’s planning policy team when shaping policies within it’s emerging Local Plan Review, and when forcing through the proposed urban cramming spatial distribution approach being taken towards new development within heavily urbanised parts of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough. Which contain areas of sensitive urban green space. The Council’s planning policy approach on these matters therefore fails the “Sustainability” tests of soundness as specified under paragraph 35 (indent d) of the Revised NPPF (December 2023), as well as a range of health-focused guidance set out under paragraphs 8 (indent b), 96 (indent c) and 102 of the Revised NPPF (December
2023).
31. The global coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) represents one of the worst global health pandemic events to affect the United Kingdom (UK) within the last
100 years. The emerging Local Plan Review has failed to shape these
“pandemic-related factors” into is policy approach

Object

Representation ID: 1214

Received: 25/11/2024

Respondent: Goldfinch Town Planning Services (West Midlands)

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

The Habitat Regulations Assessment (HRA) undertaken as part of the supporting background technical evidence base for the emerging Local Plan Review is insufficiently robust, given that it has failed to adequately consider the impacts of substantial built urbanising development encroachment and habitat fragmentation within established wildlife corridor networks, due to the proposed severe urban cramming development approach being forced-through by the council’s planning policy team within the emerging Local Plan Review within the borough. The HRA is also not informed by a sufficiently robust, defendable, reliable and fit-for-purpose Green Infrastructure (GI study) technical evidence base study, as required by paragraph 185 of the Revised NPPF (December 2023).

Object

Representation ID: 1220

Received: 25/11/2024

Respondent: Goldfinch Town Planning Services (West Midlands)

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

Established residential communities located within the Norton area of Stourbridge have a particular shortage of children’s care homes provision and supported housing accommodation for adults with special needs. In order to promote sustainable patterns of development and inclusive communities, this matter should therefore be explored further within the council’s emerging Local Plan Review (2024/ 2025).

Object

Representation ID: 1221

Received: 25/11/2024

Respondent: Goldfinch Town Planning Services (West Midlands)

Legally compliant? No

Sound? No

Duty to co-operate? No

In the Dudley Metropolitan Borough, the main contributor to poor urban air quality is from the emissions produced by transport. The two most harmful are Nitrogen Dioxide (NO2) and Fine Particulate Matter (PM2.5). There is a particular problem of very poor air quality within the Dudley Borough inner urban area, given that existing road networks within this area are already heavily congested. The traffic highway congestion implications of focusing proposed
10,470 new homes within the urban area will be considerable. Given that existing road infrastructure networks within urban areas within the Dudley Metropolitan Borough are already heavily constrained and heavily congested with vehicular traffic. They have no capacity to accommodate this significant scale of new traffic growth.

74. We question the robustness of the air quality assessments submitted to support the council’s emerging Local Plan Review. We are concerned that the air quality assessments do not consider all the likely air quality effects of the development in combination, and against a reliable baseline of existing air quality.
75. There are already air pollution exceedances, particularly NOx, in heavily
urbanised parts of the Dudley Metropolitan Borough. The proposed spatial planning policy approach towards the distribution of new housing development within the urban area and removal of urban woodlands would only worsen air quality issues, resulting in damaging impacts on local residents and their health. The Council is being both irresponsible and negligent in its duty of care and function as the Local Planning Authority, in its failure to protect public health from proposals within the emerging Local Plan Review which will cause severe air quality safety concerns. We have concerns about the ongoing failure of the LPA to protect public health within policies being brought forward through the emerging Local Plan Review. Dudley Council has a Legal duty under Article 2 of the Human Rights Act (1998) to ensure that the health of its local residents is protected when the Council is making decisions on formal planning applications, and when the Council’s Planning Policy Team is preparing emerging Local Plan Reviews (Development Plan Reviews).