Controversial green belt town moves a step closer
Application for 5,500 homes, schools, shops and leisure facilities
AGIGANTIC housing development in Sutton Coldfield has moved a step closer five years after controversial proposals to release green belt land were given the go-ahead.
The Langley Sutton Coldfield Consortium – a group of developers and landowners – has finally submitted an application for permission to build 5,500 homes on the Langley site neighbouring Walmley.
If granted, it will lead to detailed planning applications for homes, shops, schools, medical centres and leisure facilities on the eastern side of Sutton on land bordering the A38 dual carriageway.
The Langley Consortium includes house builders Taylor Wimpey, Vistry and William Davis; landowners Home England and Rubery Owen Holdings; along with Nurton Developments.
Existing buildings, including semi-detached homes east of
Springfield Road and farm buildings will be demolished.
More than a third of the 5,500 homes will be ‘affordable’ with four per cent for ‘social rent’, six per cent for ‘affordable rent’ and 25 per cent for ‘affordable ownership’.
The homes will sit among the private sales, with Cllr David Barrie (Walmley and Minworth) saying there will be “no ghettos here”.
The new development will have a district centre with two local centres, to the north and south.
The proposals include one secondary school for 1,400 pupils with a sixth form for 300 pupils and up to three primary schools for 1,950 pupils, along with six nursery or early years units with 400 places.
Community facilities will include pubs, restaurants, shops, sports and leisure facilities.
There will also be community and medical buildings with a GP surgery.
The development will be served by two new junctions on the A38. One is currently being constructed 400 metres north of the Minworth Island to serve Langley and the neighbouring Peddimore industrial park.
Work could start next year with a final completion date of around 2040.
But many questions remain regarding the development, including, crucially, where it will start.
Cllr Barrie said: “The vast majority of this isn’t known at all. The bit of detail in the documents with the application is out there already.
“A lot of questions residents have been asking remain unanswered.
“Where is the building going to start? How is the phasing going to be arranged – from building homes to schools and medical facilities? How will Sprint buses get people into Sutton
Coldfield town centre?
“They are things that are going to follow later. This is very much the first step.
“This is now a formal consultation. This is a massive development that will take a long time to deliver. The role of the advisory group is going to continue for a long time to come. We are very committed to get the best out of it.”
Sutton native turned councillor and now Tory MP for Stourbridge, Suzanne Webb, said: “On paper the proposal is painful to read – some properties demolished, the overhead power lines diverted underground, the scale of the development and some of the infrastructure proposed of scale and details of the strategic highway points.
“Hold on tight as this is going to be a painful process as the area around us becomes a construction site once the outline planning application is approved.
“After this, there will be the individual planning applications for each development.”
On paper the proposal is painful to read Suzanne Webb MP