To many people in Stourbridge, the green belt is a vital part of life. Providing beautiful landscapes to enjoy and experience and acting as a vital green barrier to stop urban sprawl, I recognise the important of the green belt in our area. I have a track record in fighting against green belt development, being part of the Project Fields campaign opposed to green belt development elsewhere in the West Midlands.
I would like to see a brownfield first policy on development, and I believe both Mayor Andy Street and Dudley Council do too. I have always believed very strongly in building on brownfield sites before any green belt site can be considered. In this way, the homes earmarked for the sites could be built elsewhere, preserving precious green belt for residents. Not only does this preserve existing green belt sites, but it also regenerates and invigorates areas that have often been left to decay or have at the very least been grossly underused. In my view, extra resources deployed to identifying and analysing brownfield sites would considerably outweigh the damage that could be done to green belt land. Evidence has also shown that building on these sites is often quicker than building on green belt sites.
That is why I am campaigning with local residents, Conservative councillors, and West Midlands Mayor Andy Street to prevent any development on local green belt sites.
The good news is that it looks like no green belt land in Dudley Council’s Local Plan has been allocated for housing or commercial development in the constituency.
I will continue to fight for a brownfield first approach and residents can always count of my support when green belt is threatened.
