In a new report What Price West Midlands Green Belts? [1], CPRE West Midlands [2] warns that the region’s Green Belts are suffering neglect and that the vital contribution they make to regenerating cities and towns and preventing urban sprawl is not fully appreciated.

The countryside campaigners say that although Green Belts have never been more important they are in danger of being taken for granted in the West Midlands. Planners across the region need to make a fresh commitment to protecting and enhancing them.

Parts of the Green Belt which have already suffered, such as the large area lost around the National Exhibition Centre and Birmingham International Airport, now face the prospect of further significant incursions.  Green Belts close to settlements earmarked for very high growth, such as Worcester, Redditch, Rugby, Lichfield and Tamworth are also vulnerable.  Green Belts to the west and north of the Black Country could be threatened by development associated with new or potential roads.

Higher housing targets could threaten the Green Belt almost anywhere and regional planners should resist Government pressure for these big increases. [3]

The report also calls for stronger emphasis on the need for positive environmental improvements in the Green Belt to increase its overall benefit to the public, but says these should not be used as an excuse for inappropriate development. They point to some good examples, such as the Green Arc Initiative [4] in the M6 Toll corridor, but say this type of approach should be much more widely applied, with more secure funding.

Gerald Kells, CPRE’s Regional Policy Officer in the West Midlands, said:  ‘We know that Green Belts are extremely popular with the public [5] and perform a vital function by stopping cities and towns sprawling outwards. And yet they are hardly mentioned in regional planning strategies. [6] There is a very real danger that they will be treated as a mere short-term brake on development. We need to reinvigorate them as a vitally important planning tool for the 21st century.’

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NOTES FOR EDITORS

1. What Price West Midlands Green Belts? is published by CPRE West Midlands. Paper copies of the report are available from Peter Langley (tel 02476 540211). It will be available on our website at www.cprewm.org.uk from Friday 29 June.

2. CPRE, the Campaign to Protect Rural England, is a charity which promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England.  We advocate positive solutions for the long-term future of the countryside.  Founded in 1926, we have 60,000 supporters and a branch in every county.  President: Sir Max Hastings. Patron: Her Majesty The Queen.

3. See CPRE’s press release 41/07 (5 June 2007) – ‘West Midlands Assembly Must Resist Excessive Housing in the Countryside’. http://www.cpre.org.uk/news/view/401

4. The Green Arc Initiative is a partnership between local authorities, Natural England, the Forestry Commission and Midlands Expressway Ltd to improve the environment and quality of life in the M6 Toll corridor.

5. A CPRE survey in 2005 found that 85% of people in the East and West Midlands believed that Green Belt land should remain open and undeveloped.

6. The West Midlands Regional Spatial Strategy (formerly known as Regional Planning Guidance) was published by the Deputy Prime Minister in June 2004. It is currently under review.