Plan for 600 homes on green belt 'unjustified'

Plans for up to 600 new homes on green belt near Balsall Common would be "fundamentally inappropriate and unjustified", a West Midlands MP has warned.

The proposed development would see housing built on land south of Broad Lane at Hawkshurst Moor Farm in Berkswell.

Sqib Bhatti, Conservative MP for Meriden and Solihull East, said the scheme was unjustified because of its location and the cumulative scale of development already proposed around Balsall Common.

Barratt David Wilson Homes has submitted the outline planning application to Solihull Council.

Bhatti raised concerns about the impact on the wider Meriden Gap, which separates Birmingham and Coventry.

"The Green Belt is precious," he said.

"This protected site provides an essential separation between Balsall Common and Coventry to prevent urban sprawl and preserve the openness of the countryside."

In a letter of objection to the council, Bhatti argued that there was no justification for the permanent loss of protected green belt and warned the development would cause "irreversible harm to the strategically important Meriden Gap".

Plans for a "multi-faith burial ground" with space for a maximum of 425 burials per year is also included in the application.

A previous plan to build a solar farm on part of the 67-hectare site was turned down by the authority and a government planning inspector in the late 2010s as it was deemed inappropriate development.

The application is due to be considered by the council at a later date.

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