Council markets controversial green belt site to investors
BIRMINGHAM’S next major industrial development will create up to 10,000 new jobs and contribute £350 million to the local economy, the council claims.
The controversial release of 71 hectares of green belt land at Peddimore, near Sutton Coldfield, was finally approved recently after years of protests and a public inquiry.
But now city bosses have released a ‘Peddimore Visioning Document’ to pitch to potential investors at the giant MIPIM international property fair in Cannes.
It is one of the UK’s biggest industrial development sites with 265,000 sq metres of floorspace and access to a highly skilled workforce.
City council leader John Clancy said: “Peddimore shows our ambition to deliver an exemplary indus- trial scheme that will become a catalyst for major growth and investment.
“This is a fantastic opportunity to bring thousands of skilled jobs to the area on the edge of our great city with enviable transport links. We’re confident that this scheme will attract even more world-class businesses to the region, and I believe that presenting this document will be the first step toward delivering a true legacy in the local area.”
Peddimore, on the eastern edge of the city, lies along the A38 corridor which is already home to major industry including the Jaguar Land Rover plant at Castle Bromwich, GKN and Webasto.
The re-opening of the Sutton Park freight rail line to passengers, which runs near the site, is being considered, as is a new road access from the A38.
The site earmarked homes.
The city council hopes to appoint a preferred developer next year.
Campaigners in Sutton Coldfield have battled against plans for the industrial development of the council-owned Peddimore site for more than two decades.
During the late 1990s electronics giant Phillips was linked with plans for a factory on the site.
But a campaign by the Walmley Residents Association, which went all the way to a public inquiry, is also next to land now for up to 6,000 new proved successful and the remained protected green belt.
In 2013, with growing pressure for housing and industrial sites, Birmingham City Council again proposed removing Peddimore from the green belt and, despite protests, was this time successful.
The Birmingham Development Plan, in which both Peddimore and Langley are made available for development, was approved by the Government last November.
Sutton Coldfield MP Andrew Mitchell has strongly criticised his own Government over the issue, saying ministers betrayed a manifesto pledge to involve local people in planning decision and protect the green belt.
Speaking in Parliament in November he described the development as unnecessary and said the people of Sutton Coldfield had been let down. site