Call to ditch homes for new park Councillor: 950 new dwellings are not wanted on site of former golf course
THE owners of a disused Birmingham golf course have been urged to ditch a housing developer and seek new buyers for the site.
Developer Bloor Homes has been targeting the North Worcestershire Golf Club (NWGC) with controversial plans for about 1,000 homes for several years with successive planning applications.
But the site, in Longbridge, is not designated for housing in the city’s official development plan, and so far all planning applications have either been rejected or withdrawn by the company.
Residents and councillors have submitted petitions and held protests against the development which they say will place huge pressure on local roads, schools and health services.
Now Cllr Andy Cartwright (Lab, Longbridge) is calling on the golf club committee, which still owns the site, to seek alternative buyers who can return the site to leisure or commercial use.
He said: “We know that the NWGC shareholders still own the land and are appealing to them to look elsewhere rather than waste residents’ and developers’ time with these housing applications.
“Birmingham does need homes but Longbridge Ward has gone over its quota including with new housing on the old Rover site. More housing here would just add to the existing nightmare of on the roads and traffic congestion.
“My plea is for those that are still linked to NWGC please consider the community that chose to live where they do because of the environment they enjoy. If you sign it over to Bloor you will negatively impact on their lives and our community. The people of Longbridge were promised 10,000 jobs in the area action plan and we need something which can help deliver these, not more houses.”
He said that a leisure park or hotel would be a better fit. Cllr Cartwright’s call came after Bloor put forward a fresh application for 950 homes which the developer argues will address the concerns of previous proposals raised by planning officers.
A Bloor spokesman said: “The company is committed to the delivery of much needed, high quality new homes within the city and the new planning application will specifically address matters raised under the previous planning application and also comments raised at the recent public consultation event.
“It includes a revised illustrative masterplan which increases the amount of new public open space within the site by 11 per cent to 27 acres, from 24 acres.
“In total Bloor Homes consider the investment in new facilities and infrastructure for the local community generated by this development would exceed £15 million.”
The Post was unable to contact site owners NWGC for comment.
Birmingham does need homes but Longbridge Ward has gone over its quota Cllr Andy Cartwright, right