'Disgusting': Residents slam developers over Stourbridge Corbett Meadow plan
Angry residents have branded plans to build on land behind a hospital “disgusting” – as public opposition gains support.
The proposal for 136 homes on Corbett Meadow, behind Corbett Outpatients Centre in Amblecote, Stourbridge, has prompted a petition and a Facebook group against it.
And at a public meeting held for residents to see the plans for the site in more detail many hit out at the idea.
Claire Hobbis, aged 35, from Stourbridge, said: “I’m concerned about the impact on wildlife. Why do we have to build on green belt areas, when there is brownfield sites we can use in the local area?
“Plus there would be added traffic. It is already a nightmare parking at schools nearby so this would make things worse.”
The green space is owned by the Dudley Group NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs Russells Hall Hospital.
The trust has put forward the land for development, after recent government guidance advised NHS bodies to dispose of surplus land.
But the local community have opposed the plans because the land is considered an asset.
Residents say there would be very little green space left in the area if the plans went ahead. There are also fears about an increase in pressure on local infrastructure.
One woman, aged 59, who wished to remain anonymous, told a planning consultant at the meeting: “I don’t think any of you live around here.
"If you did, you wouldn’t have the nerve to put forward these plans. How are you going to improve traffic? We wouldn’t be able to get anywhere.”
The land has been considered important to local residents for more than a century.
It was given to public ownership in 1893 by the then land owner, John Corbett.
However it was taken away by the government in 1948 after the NHS was formed.
But now, with the land set to be lost to housing, Helen Cook, from the Amblecote History Society, has questioned the ethics behind the development.
“The land was bequeathed by John Corbett,” she said. “It is the moral question. But this is happening all over the country.”
A firm called Countryside is developing the plans, which were laid out at a public consultation on Monday night.
A petition against them has attracted more than 700 signatures. A Facebook group has also been launched called Save the Corbett Meadow.
The trust’s chief executive, Diane Wake, said the potential sale of the land would be put back into local NHS services.
However before any sale can take place, a planning application must first be submitted and passed by Dudley Council.
Betty Mees, 81, from Stourbridge, added: “This is disgusting. There is no other word for it. It is not their land (the NHS trust) anyway, they pirated it.
“They (the trust) say money from the land sale will be put back into the local NHS trust. But they should get rid of all the bosses at the top to save money.”
