New homes could be built on Green Belt land in Burntwood after councillors voted to keep two sites on the list of possible sites for housing.

Around 250 homes have been earmarked for land off Highfields Road, while 80 could be constructed near Coulter Lane.

Lichfield District Council’s Cabinet voted to allow the plans to be put out for consultation.

Steve Norman
Steve Norman

Steve Norman, Labour’s candidate for the Burntwood South division at the forthcoming Staffordshire County Council elections said locals were paying the price for decisions made at all levels of the Conservative administration.

“The council had already agreed to take out the Coulter Lane site in the 2013 Green Belt Review, but Highfields Road survived – until this meeting.

“I did have some sympathy for the Cabinet members responsible for the Local Plan, who had to explain the decision, though all knew of course, that they had to comply with the Conservative Government’s rules in terms of the National Planning Policy Framework.

“While the Conservative manifesto said that the Green Belt would be protected, the new Housing White Paper says ‘Green Belt boundaries should be amended only in exceptional circumstances when local authorities can demonstrate that they have fully examined all other reasonable options for meeting their identified housing requirements’ – that is the Council’s case, they have looked everywhere else.”

Mr Norman added that the story of increased housing development in Burntwood could still have several chapters yet.

“Lichfield District will have to find land for Birmingham’s housing needs in the next few years as well,” he said.

“A Conservative government, a Conservative Council means it is still Conservative policies.”

Lichfield District Council confirmed to LichfieldLive that the public consultation over the proposals for new housing would open on March 20.

Founder of Lichfield Live and editor of the site.

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James
7 years ago

Having lived in Burntwood my whole life (a mere 23 years) I can testify that the majority of residents in Burntwood are in fact sitting in houses which are too large for the number that live in them and nestled on land which was previously agricultural land.
As a millennial I will never reach the level of income which will enable me to buy a property in the current climate of housing shortage and the prospect of renting would entirely remove any hope of owning my own property.
It is easy for those middle-aged, overpaid nimbies’ sat in their own homes to dictate the shape of the land. Needless to say there will be no such thing as a pension by the time my generation requires one and with no chance of stepping on the housing ladder, our under-saving for later will not be supplemented by the capital access from housing wealth. It is time that the older generation stopped thinking of themselves and the view from their 4 bed houses and considered what is on the horizon for their grandchildren.

Yours sincerely
A homeless hard working millennial

B S Westwood
7 years ago

I completed agree with James here.

I know the greenbelt is of high importance to some people, but its hard to make a good case against the build of new homes (in my opinion). James has hit the nail on the head by stating we are going to be a generation worse off then our parents/ grandparents.

You may be an old, pensioner who has a regular “income” who can sit home all day and enjoy the greens of the greenbelt. However, as a younger person, working to support your pension, as well as struggling to breach the property market. I would enjoy the see a shake up of Burntwood homes. I want to be able to get a decent salary and live within the town I’ve grew up in.