Local campaigners and residents are delighted that the plans to develop Peddimore and Bassetts Pole have been overruled. The City Council’s Council’s Unitary Development Plan consultation received a record number of responses, many highly critical of the proposals to destroy the greenbelt at these two sites, from local people and campaign groups such as Birmingham Friends of the Earth and the Council for the Protection of Rural England.
Karen Leach of Birmingham Friends of the Earth said:
“The City Council must learn from this momentous decision that they cannot ignore the opinions of local people in favour of big business. Now they should pursue real regeneration and rejuvenation of the city – creating jobs in urban areas near to where people live, not all over our irreplaceable greenbelt.”
Birmingham Friends of the Earth wants to see a thriving regional economy, but not at the expense of leaving the West Midlands at the mercy of fluctuating global markets. Several smaller brownfield sites can bring in as much wealth as one large site.
Ms Leach continued:
“These big investment sites force us into a global auction, at the whims of multinational corporations who will pit local authorities against each other in a costly battle – and then pack up and leave within a few years, just like Siemens did in the North East.”
“More smaller scale enterprise, and training to meet our local practical skill shortages – such as plumbers and construction work – can meet local needs without destroying the countryside, generating traffic or leaving us shackled to insecure global markets.”
