Major blow to green belt defenders
THE borough's green and pleasant hills could be lost if the Government presses ahead with ontroversial plans to build thousands of new homes in the Midlands.
That's the warning from the Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) who are so concerned that Solihull could lose almost 500 acres of greenfield land that they are holding a public meeting in the town centre next week.
The Government has outlined plans for the West Midlands Regional Assembly to sanction up to 570,000 new homes in the region over the next 25 years.
The figure represents almost half as many more homes than are currently planned and the CPRE believes as much as 23 square miles of greenfield land would be sacrificed.
Of that it estimates 480 acres would be in Solihull, with 18,000 new dwellings created in the borough.
The organisation believes Solihull is under particular threat because it borders vast swathes of countryside.
Nicholas Butler from CPRE said: "Since the present developed area of Solihull adjoins the conurbation to the north and west and the green belt to the south and east, the green belt is clearly under threat."
The organisation has also issued a rallying call to the public to fight the proposal.
Borough's MPs, Caroline Spelman (Meriden) and Lorely Burt (Solihull), will both be attending the CPRE meeting at 7.15pm next Friday in the WI Hall in Union Road, Solihull.
icsolihull.icnetwork.co.uk, 26.01.2007
