Birmingham city council has approved the adoption of a local development plan, paving the way for a massive release of green belt land.
Councillors voted in favour of the Birmingham Development Plan after receiving a letter from a government inspector outlining only small modifications.
The plan envisages the release of 840 acres of green belt to make way for housing and commercial development. Of this, the council had set aside 197 acres at Peddimore for employment uses, including industrial and manufacturing.
The inspector’s letter recommended this be reduced to 175 acres to minimise the visual impact. He also recommended an increase in the overall housing requirement for the city from 84,000 to 89,000 homes, reflecting population growth projections. The council must now make these modifications and put them out for public consultation.
The inspector’s final report is due in October.
If the report is deemed sound, the council aims to have the plan adopted at the start of 2016, making Birmingham one of the first core cities in the country to have adopted a new plan.
The council also voted this week to adopt its proposed community infrastructure levy charging schedule from 4 January next year.
This includes a £69 per sq m charge for residential development in the highest-value areas of the city, while city centre offices will not incur any levy.
Waheed Nazir, director of planning and regeneration at the council, said: “The market is still fragile and the council is mindful that it does not want to make development unviable in the city due to CIL.
“CIL is a useful tool to enable us to deliver essential infrastructure to facilitate our planned growth. We will keep the charges under review to ensure they remain reasonable and will continue to work closely with our development sector colleagues.”
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