Object
Publication Plan November 2022
Representation ID: 5122
Received: 22/12/2022
Respondent: Folkes Holdings
Agent: Harris Lamb Property Consultancy
Legally compliant? Yes
Sound? No
Duty to co-operate? No
The Objector considers the proposed Local Plan to be both unsound and not complying with the provision of the Duty to Cooperate by not allocating the land, to the east of the A449 at Lawnswood for housing (please see site map at Appendix 1). Regarding the tests of soundness (National Planning Policy Framework 2021, paragraph 35 refers) the Objector does not consider the plan is either “positively prepared”, “justified”, “effective” nor “considered with National Policy” for the two
fundamental reasons:
1. The plan does not meet the District’s objectively assessed need for housing.
2. The plan does not set out nor provide enough housing to meet the substantive and significant unmet needs of the Black Country conurbation (in a planning context where Birmingham City has an even greater unmet housing need, approximately 79,000) which is also a failing in respect of the statutory Duty to Cooperate.
The Objection Site’s Vision Document (please see Appendix 2) demonstrates that within this very broad area there are sites which can deliver sustainable development.
It is important to point out that the Objection Site (Call for Sites reference 343) was discounted/ruled out of the Strategic Housing and Employment Land Availability
Assessment because it lies adjacent to a “Tier 5 Settlement” i.e. Lawnswood. The Objector considers that completely ignores the Objection Site’s potential to meet the significant unmet housing needs of the Black Country conurbation which abuts CFS 343.
A main attribute of the Objection Site is that it is well contained in the landscape and can deliver a new, more robust western boundary for a revised Green Belt area.
Regarding more detailed planning matters, these are dealt with in more detail in the Vision Document. Suffice to say here that regarding ecology, flood risk and drainage, landscape and visual impact, services and utilities, there are no planning constraint “showstoppers” and the Masterplan (Page 41 refers of the Vision Document) can be readily delivered (see Appendix 2 for Vision Document).