Villages a 'dumping ground' for builders, says MP

Mark Pritchard, MP for The Wrekin, said plans for more than 6,000 new homes to the north-west of Wolverhampton would have a devastating effect on rural communities.

During a debate in the House of Commons, Mr Pritchard accused both Shropshire Council and Telford & Wrekin Council of showing little regard for the environmental needs of the area.

He said he also wanted answers on the financial and commercial arrangements between the two councils, in an address to housing and planning minister Kit Malthouse.

"Shropshire Council wants to concrete over huge amounts of greenbelt in Shropshire,one of the most beautiful villages in the Diocese of Lichfield, with arguably the most beautiful church in Shropshire," said Mr Pritchard.

"The council wants to build up to 3,000 houses on prime green belt land near the historic and beautiful village of Tong."

To add insult to injury, there were also plans for 123 acres of employment land as part of the scheme, based on a fanciful claim that there was a shortage of employment land in the West Midlands, he added.

He also launched a broadside on Telford & Wrekin Council.

"This is a council that has proven it doesn't have any regard for the borough's ecological heritage," he said.

"It has a total disregard for for the environment, it is complicit in what I would call environmental vandalism in the borough on a scale that is unprecedented.

He was critical of plans for a toilet roll factory in Shawbirch, saying it was a totally inappropriate site, and that only 15 households had been consulted. The scheme was later withdrawn.

Mr Pritchard said he did not accept there was a shortage of employment land in the West Midlands, but if that were the case, there was plenty of land available on the industrial parks of Telford itself, or even in Wolverhampton.

During the debate, Ludlow MP Philip Dunne also expressed concerns about the encroachment of development on the eastern fringes of Bridgnorth.

Katherine Kynaston, assistant director for business and employment at Telford & Wrekin Council, defended the authority's record.

“Mr Pritchard is clearly entitled to his views," she said. “However, the Council places great importance upon the borough’s ecological heritage."

Mrs Kynaston said the council had adopted a total of 16 local nature reserves covering 1,285 acres, nearly triple the minimum recommended standard. It had also protected more than 200 sites as part of its Green Guarantee scheme, protecting land totalling 1,359 acres from development.

"In 2018 the Council invested £52,000 to enhance these sites and in 2019 a further £50,000 of investment is planned," she added.

She said the Shawbirch scheme related to Government-owned land, which the Government had earmarked for employment use many years ago.

Mr Malthouse said the Government was committed to enabling the housing market to deliver at least 300,000 new homes a year by the mid-2020s, and every part of the country had a role to play in delivering these homes.

"Under the plan-making process, all local authorities have a duty to co-operate with their neighbours in seeking to allocate housing need most appropriately in their region or area," he said.

"Where those plans are put in place and there is co-operation about the allocation of housing, of course it should be completely transparent for local communities to see how their democratically elected representatives are disposing of the required housing need in their area."

He said Mr Pritchard was right to say local authorities had a duty to look at brownfield land before considering green-belt development.

"The green belt is a key feature of our natural heritage and fundamentally aims to prevent urban sprawl by keeping land permanently open," said Mr Malthouse.