Building site. Pic: Ian Britton

Lichfield Civic Society have rejected the proposed development of 450 homes south of Shortbutts Lane.

In their May 2012 Newsletter they cited “prematurity”, and “unsatisfactory approach” to infrastructure and “protection of the green belt” in their reasoning.

The Society said the plans should not have been drawn up because the Local Development Framework had not yet finalised proposed areas for development, nor the scale of housing needed.

Referring to the “delays in securing the rail under bridge for the Walsall Road/Darwin Park development” they criticised the development plans as “wholly unsatisfactory” because of “the failure to include construction of the rail line under bridge and the final connection to the already built section of the By-pass”.

Concerns were also raised at the “risk of subsequent or associated development of a type not acceptable in the Green Belt” and it is urged that “areas of public open space must transfer to the local authority with sufficient funds for future management to ensure it is preserved for all time as open space”.

[story-latest tag=”shortbutts450″]

1 Comment
Oldest
Newest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments
paul golder
11 years ago

The Civic Society is right to emphasise the weakness of LDC in extracting planning gains from development but wrong in its regular rejection of house building. The number of empty shops in the city centre is support for the need to grow Lichfield to a more sustainable size, the issue is how to do this in a way which benefits the whole city.

They are right that the South of Shortbutts development is an opportunity to complete the southern ring road and this must be a prerequisite for any approval of the project, but it is also an opportunity to support the canal development providing leisure space and an amenity for the city. What about a bit of imagination? Could we not include a marina in the plans providing a commercial incentive to support the canal extension at least as far as the Birmingham Road?

Why not endorse a larger project than the current proposal if that is necessary to achieve the required quality of the new development? We now live in a era where local autonomy and Big Society ideas are supposed to flourish let us see LDC and its partners demonstrate they are on the ball.

Could not Lichfield Live support a crowd sourced design activity?