Planners seeking views on blueprint
Saturday 18th October 2008, 10:05AM BST.
Regional planners have urged the public to make their views known on key issues, like housing, transport and the environment, which will shape the future of the West Midlands.
The closing date for comments on the planning blueprint for the region for the next 18 years is December 8, and West Midlands planning partnership chairman Rex Roberts said it was an important opportunity for the public to get involved.
One of the controversial issues to be decided is how many houses should be built in the region and where, following a row between the Government and the West Midlands Regional Assembly.
Housing minister Baroness Andrews sparked the dispute earlier this year when she indicated that the Government wasn’t satisfied with the assembly’s plan to allow 365,000 new homes over the next few decades.
She suggested that the target should be 420,000 new homes, leading to allegations of top down government, and claims that the Government was riding roughshod over regional concerns about over-development.
The Campaign to Protect Rural England also claimed that the only way the Government’s housing target could be met would involve councils allowing development on greenfield sites.
Comments should be sent to WMRSS Panel Secretary, Government Office for the West Midlands, 5 St Philips Place, Colmore Row, Birmingham, B3 2PW, or to wm.panelsecretary@gowm.gsi.gov.uk
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