Housing decision ‘threat’ to historic windmill Residents cry foul over designation of brownfield site for homes near landmark
CAMPAIGNERS claim a 200-year-old grade II-listed windmill could be threatened by future housing developments.
Residents fear a Solihull Council decision could now open the door to hundreds of new houses near the historic Berkswell Windmill, in Windmill Lane, Balsall Common.
More than 50 have objected to the allocation of land for development a stone’s throw from the landmark. The protesters fear any future development would have a negative effect on the windmill, which was built in 1826.
All local authorities are now required by the Government to produce a brownfield land register, with a list of 27 sites around the borough agreed for inclusion at a meeting this week.
A Solihull Council report said it recognised the public concern, but argued its register was designed only to catalogue “previously developed land considered suitable for residential development”.
It added that the site’s inclusion did not guarantee the council would give permission for development.
But Berkswell Windmill owner Jeanette McGarry claimed the decision flew in the face of planning guidelines and could prove to be the thin end of the wedge, threatening the future of a wildliferich habitat.
“The response to the council just goes to show how important the windmill is as a monument,” she said.
“It is not just local residents, it is national organisations like the Society for the Protection of Ancient Buildings which recognise its significance
“The council are flouting democracy. They asked for responses to the consultation, the people responded and they have ignored them.”
Objections were also made by Balsall Parish Council, Berkswell Parish Council and the Midland Wind and Water Mills Group.
The council calculated its brownfield sites could accommodate between 1,067 and 1,738 homes, with a tract of land at the NEC and the former TRW site, on the Stratford Road, considered to have the greatest capacity.
Solihull Council cabinet member Cllr Ian Courts, said the authority had made changes to the list following the recent consultation exercise and stressed at this stage the register was about identifying those sites which matched the brownfield criteria.
“I think, in the main, objections have been on the basis that this is a planning application or something like it. It is not,” he said.
The windmill continued to operate until 1948 and a major restoration project, costing £200,000, was completed at the site in 2013.
The landmark holds open days, throughout the year.