Latest news with #greenbelt
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Stoke Prior residents criticise green belt housebuilding plans
"We're a countryside village - we're not a town, we're not a city."People living in Bromsgrove, Worcestershire, have spoken out against plans to build 9,000 new homes in the coming years, many of which will go on green belt land - which makes up 90% of the are due to meet on Thursday to discuss the blueprint for the new homes, which has been drawn up to meet government housebuilding Bright, a parish councillor in Stoke Prior, said plans to build 500 homes in the village, on the Ryelands Farm site, were "ridiculous". "The infrastructure that we have in this village is just not going to take it at obviously the school... I couldn't get my children in there, so they've had to go to Hanbury First School [three miles away], which is now at its capacity as well."Mr Bright added that he was also concerned about the ability of the roads to handle the extra traffic. In order to meet government housebuilding targets, Bromsgrove district council has put forward a draft plan of potential sites for more than 9,000 houses, for between now and the criticism from residents - as well as Liberal Democrat councillors, the council's Tory-Independent administration warned of the risk of Whitehall intervention if the draft is not put out to public consultation for 12 weeks from 30 June."I absolutely accept that we need to build more houses, but concreting fields is not the answer," said Dr David Nicholl, the Lib Dem councillor for Nicholl would rather see a range of options for building presented to residents."[Stoke Prior] will no longer be a village, it'll be a town," he Tolley's home backs directly onto Ryelands Farm."Every morning I wake up, I open my curtains, you've got people walking their dogs, you've got people chatting," she said. "Cows come up to the fence."Ms Tolley said some of her neighbours had already talked about moving away, and she struggled to get GP appointments at the local surgery."How are we supposed to take on another 500 houses worth of people?" she asked. "We all know that houses do need to be built," said Mr Bright. "But our infrastructure here cannot handle it."And actually, Bromsgrove as a whole can't handle the extra houses that are already being built now, down on Whitford Road, Perryfields Road. It can't handle it."So, a village taking another 500 houses - it'll just be absolute carnage."Besides Stoke Prior, the plans would also see 1,800 homes built to the northeast of Bromsgrove itself, 1,200 in Wythall, 600 in Catshill and 500 in both Alvechurch and Hagley. Follow BBC Hereford & Worcester on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X, and Instagram.
BBC News
a day ago
- Politics
- BBC News
Stoke-on-Trent ex-school site used for pitches may be developed
The site of a school which closed 30 years ago is set to be earmarked for development, despite opposition from hundreds of former Ball Green High School is one of 11 pieces of land owned by Stoke-on-Trent City Council which the authority wants to declare surplus and include in its local playing fields on the land off Bemersley Road, which lies in the green belt, have been used as football pitches since the school was demolished. More than 440 people have signed a petition asking for the site to be retained for public use. A council report said it was being considered "for various future uses" as part of a wider scheme. And the report to the council's cabinet about the 11 sites states declaring land surplus did not mean a decision had been taken on its it allowed officers to investigate different uses for the local plan will guide development in the city over the next 15 years, including earmarking sites for government has set the city council a housing requirement of 948 homes a year, about twice what is currently delivered. While most of the 11 sites are set to be earmarked for housing, the high school site is part of the Chatterley Whitfield Development Project which considers various future uses. Baddeley, Milton and Norton councillor Dave Evans started the petition and said the council should develop brownfields sites and not build on greenbelt land. "Once you start taking bits of land out of the green belt you get the sort of urban sprawl that the green belt is meant to stop," he said."The Redhills Road site in Milton desperately needs to be developed so the contamination of the land can be dealt with."Chris Robinson, cabinet member for housing, planning and governance, said the sites' future will be discussed at a cabinet meeting on 24 June. He said they were aware of the petition and would listen to residents' views and other stakeholders before making any decisions."The council currently owns around 500 buildings and pieces of land, all of which cost a significant amount to maintain, and many are no longer needed. "Reviewing these sites is an important part of our plans to save money, run more efficiently and unlock new opportunities for communities."We are committed to making better use of brownfield land and provide more homes for local people." Where are the 11 potential local plan sites? Bilton Street – BoothenBooth Street – BoothenPower Grove – Longton and Meir Hay SouthBengry Road – Lightwood North and NormacotEaves Lane – Abbey HultonCaverswall Lane – Meir ParkCentral Business District (Smithfield) – Etruria and HanleyWoodhead Road – Abbey HultonBrookwood Drive – Meir NorthCanal Lane, Westport Lane – BurslemBall Green – Baddeley, Milton and Norton Follow BBC Stoke & Staffordshire on BBC Sounds, Facebook, X and Instagram. This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.
BBC News
3 days ago
- Science
- BBC News
Data centre targeting London's green belt
"What they want to do here is a warning to anyone else: if you think you have got green belt and you think it will be there forever, say goodbye to it."Fleur Albrecht is protesting against a huge development on land near to her home. She is passionate and angry. In a yellowing wheat field, next to an oak tree, we are standing on the front line of huge changes to London's green is 85 acres of green belt on the edge of London between Potters Bar and the South Mimms service station. It is criss-crossed by footpaths and looks like it is used a is where a Europe's largest cloud and AI data centre will be built, the aim to provide jobs and economic growth. Ms Albrecht says the data centre will devastate the green belt here."This is the lungs of London. We are so lucky to have this open green space," she tells BBC London. "My house is 75 metres away from massive big sheds that they want to build on this green belt."It's going to affect the enjoyment of coming out here. It's a massive amount of sky, birdsong, see the seasons change - all of that will be gone." A group of residents against the data centre are by the an tree. They have tied ribbons to it and posters. Carmen Rampersad lives locally. "I'm completely against it," she says. "One of the biggest worries I have is the consultation process. It hasn't been transparent, it hasn't been open and the vast majority of the people in this community are just finding out that this is happening after it has been approved."There's a school 400 metres away from where the boundary will be and I think those children have a voice."From the information that I do know about data centres, I do know they use incredible amounts of resources for their cooling systems, be it water or energy. I don't know where they're going to tap into that here. But environmentally I think it's going to be catastrophic." Bunty Shah is a protester who worries about the potential health impact of the project."Potters Bar is a sleepy commuter town surrounded by the M25," she says. "What you see here is the lungs of Potters Bar. You take this away there is going to be a lot of health effects for people that live here. "There's already issues with asthma because we are surrounded by the M25 so I think it's ridiculous they want to put a data centre here on our bit of green belt that protects us from the M25." Colin Shepherd has lived in the area all his life."It's unbelievable," he says. "Why do they want to build something like that here on premium farmland? "It's a place for people to come and walk and just enjoy the countryside and it seems terrible to cast it aside as 'grey belt' when it actually isn't. I think the people of Potters Bar will be up in arms about it." 17 London data centres planned London and the South East house some of Europe's biggest data centres. For example, Slough is now considered to be the largest data centre hub in data centres are where pretty much anything on your phone or computer is stored - the cloud, websites, social media, pictures, music and are on the way, particularly with the rise of artificial to figures from construction researchers Barbour ABI, developers are applying to build 17 data centres in London, as well as another 39 in the Home Counties. The developer dc01uk says: "Providing up to two million square feet of data centre floor area on land east of South Mimms Services, this facility will generate approximately 200 new highly skilled jobs and investment on this site, in addition to new employment opportunities during the construction phase, and significant investment value generated indirectly through the delivery of the project."It also says the land should be seen as grey belt, which the government says can be used for development."Whilst technically designated as green belt, the land performs poorly against the purposes of the green belt, being adjacent to South Mimms Services and the M25, and benefits from being set in a valley, meaning development can come forward in a sensitive way. The site can therefore be characterised as grey belt."The developer also says it intends to also create wildlife habitats."The proposals come with plans to deliver significant biodiversity enhancements to ensure that we exceed 10% biodiversity net gain," it said. "Our proposals are landscape-led, with over 54% of the site being retained and enhanced as open space. Hundreds of new trees will be planted on site, and three landscaped belts will surround the proposed buildings, to the north, east and south of the site." Data centres are resource-hungry and use a lot of electricity to keep the servers cool and the internet also use a lot of water for cooling. In the 2022 drought, Thames Water looked at how much water data centres in the area were Grid's chief executive, John Pettigrew, has previously said that the power data centres use will increase sixfold in the next said the grid was becoming "constrained" and "bold action" was needed to create a network able to cope with "dramatically" growing demand. 'Balancing act' The local Hertsmere Borough Council has given the data centre the go-ahead. The leader Jeremy Newmark is unapologetic."It's about ensuring this borough is benefiting from the country's digital future," he told BBC London. "It's about ensuring we are playing our role in the national growth mission. It's about powering jobs, building the skills we need around here and ensuring key parts of our economy have access to high-quality bandwidth they require."It's always going to be a balancing act. In this case we have made a judgement call and that's what leadership is about. "It's about making the choices that are right for this area. In fact my experience is the vast majority of people who have looked at this think it is the right thing as they understand that this area has a critical role to play in the new digital economy."This is very low-performing green-belt land. In this instance, we think sacrificing a small amount of green belt is worth it."
BBC News
4 days ago
- Business
- BBC News
Decision upheld to block green belt homes at Sawston
Plans to build new homes on the edge of a village have been blocked after an inspector deemed it an "inappropriate development" on greenbelt Cambridgeshire District Council rejected an application for up to nine homes on land outside Sawston, but the developer Instruments Ltd asked the Planning Inspectorate to grant planning permission for the "much needed self-build" planning inspector sided with the council, saying the development would lead to "an encroachment into the countryside" and have "an urbanising effect". They said: "I acknowledge that there are large areas of housing development to the north and west of the site."However, the appeal site is currently agricultural land free from any built form."The inspector said there would also likely be parking areas, outbuildings, gardens and other areas which would extend the site plans also included proposals for 15 community allotments, a new permissive right of way, and a potential community orchard. The developer said its plans offered a "unique development" which had "significant merits".The district council said it recognised the social benefits of the proposed allotments and potential community orchard, but argued this was not enough to outweigh the fact it was an "inappropriate development". In appeal documents, the developer said: "The local planning authority has had more than enough time within the last four years to meet demand [for self-build plots]."Their blatant disregard for the importance of delivering this form of housing is extremely disappointing and we very much hope that the inspector can grant the appeal to assist those desperately waiting for plots to be delivered in the district, and to comply with the government's clear agenda that the district should be significantly boosting the supply of all types of housing."The planning inspector said it recognised that there was a "demonstrable unmet need for the type of development proposed", but the benefits of the plans did not outweigh the harm to the greenbelt. Follow Cambridgeshire news on BBC Sounds, Facebook, Instagram and X.
BBC News
12-06-2025
- Business
- BBC News
Public inquiry due for Rotherham battery farm proposals
Proposals to build two battery farms near Rotherham are due to go to a full public TC Ltd and Newton Energy have lodged plans to build facilities at Moat Lane, Wickersley, but both were rejected by Rotherham Council on grounds they were "inappropriate developments" on green belt following changes to national planning policy - brought in after the plans were knocked back - councillors withdrew their reasoning for refusal, though said they would continue to object on road safety projects, which cover a combined 2.3 hectare site, are due to be considered by the Planning Inspectorate later this year. Battery energy storage facilities stockpile energy from renewable sources, like wind and solar, and release it to the National Grid as TC and Newton Energy have argued the facilities are essential to supporting the transition to renewable energy and boosting grid the plans were first put forward, more than 100 letters of support were submitted, citing benefits like green jobs and energy security, according to the Local Democracy Reporting Service.A further 37 objections were lodged, raising concerns about industrialisation of the rural landscape, visual impact and a perceived failure to explore brownfield sites, meaning areas which have previously been built council said it would defend its decision to reject the proposal, citing safety concerns about using the adjoining Green Lane for construction traffic, when the inquiry begins. Listen to highlights from South Yorkshire on BBC Sounds, catch up with the latest episode of Look North
