‘Garden city’ funding rejected Government refuses financial support to Black Country vision for new homes
APLAN to develop 45,000 homes and create what would have been the UK’s largest ‘garden city’ has suffered a major setback after being snubbed for financial backing by the Government.
Last year, it was revealed the Black Country was planning to create a £6 billion garden city across four main sites, similar to the famous Letchworth, near London. But now the Government has rejected an application for funding from four Black Country councils.
At the time of the announcement last March, then Communities Secretary Greg Clark said the proposals symbolised the area’s ambition and would act as a magnet for investment.
But the Government this week announced it was backing the 14 new garden villages elsewhere, including at Long Marston near Stratford-upon-Avon, in Warwickshire, with £6 million of support. But Sarah Middleton, chief executive of the Black Country Consortium, said she would continue to fight for the plans.
She said: “It is slightly disappointing that our interpretation wasn’t supported through this government announcement but the garden city is very much a Black Country interpretation.
“We are continuing to use other funding streams and working with partners and we are in fact building to our aspirations.”
Garden cities focus on green spaces, highly designed houses, energy efficiency and excellent links to public transport.
But they are usually associated with suburban areas on the edge of major towns and cities – not densely populated urban areas like the Black Country.
Four sites – Dudley Port, The Lye, Willenhall and Wolverhampton’s Canal Quarter – have been earmarked for what would be the UK’s largest garden city if the project ever comes to fruition.
It was previously claimed the development would generate £18 billion for the Black Country economy, having evolved from an earlier plan for parts of Smethwick and Oldbury called ‘Albion: A Garden City’.
Ms Middleton confirmed the Black Country had missed out this time with the plan to use dozens of brownfield sites across the region.
She said: “We didn’t quite meet that government interpretation of the criteria at this time.
“We want to bring those derelict sites back to use, make the most of the canal network across the Black Country and use the green assets.
“There is still a big need for housing across the country and in the Black Country and we have to use the assets available to us. We wouldn’t have one big site and we don’t think that would be suitable for a Black Country interpretation.”
The Government said the Black Country project was not dependent upon its funding and its announcement had no bearing on it, adding: “We are happy to work with them in the future.” when old Ministry of Defence land at Middle Quinton was placed on a Government short-list along with 14 other sites across the UK. The project was then described as an “eco town”.
But the proposals sparked protests from residents at the time, who claimed the scheme would put too much pressure on local services. At the time it was hoped the environmentally-friendly housing projects would be built by 2020. The Government says the new development will be a self-contained community with its own local facilities, rather than an extension to an existing urban area.