Burntwood Action Group

If you have read our November Newsletter you will be aware that the finalisation of this plan has been deferred pending the agreement between Lichfield District Council and the Regional Assembly on the number of new homes to be allocated to the District. You may have gleaned from the press that Lichfield District Council is resisting the increase of the allocation from the 8000, stated in the original plan, to 10,000. This number is important for Burntwood & Hammerwich, because it could increase the number of new homes allocated to our area beyond the 750 suggested in the draft plans. If the number remains at 750 we are fairly confidant that they can be accommodated on brownfield sites without further erosion of our much loved greenbelt.

Lichfield District Council has informed us that, since 2006, the recorded number of new homes built in Burntwood & Hammerwich is 107. At April 2009 66 Homes were under construction and 56 homes had received planning permission. This gives a total of 229 new houses in our area over the past 3 years.

Lichfield District Council has also identified locations for approximately 300 new dwellings on brownfield sites in Burntwood and Hammerwich. However, this figure is subject to further investigation and will be confirmed in the updated Strategic Housing Land Assessment which is due to be published in mid December 2009.

All of these figures exclude London & Cambridge Properties site on the Chasewater Industrial Estate opposite and beyond Morrisons Supermarket. We understand that negotiations between London & Cambridge Properties and Lichfield District Council could result in excess of 300 homes being built on this site. It is most important for the preservation of our greenbelt that these negotiations result in the land being allocated for housing and included in the final LDF Core Strategy.

We will endeavour to monitor all developments and continue a dialogue with the Lichfield District Council, at all levels, to ensure that Burntwood and Hammerwich are allocated sensible, realistic new housing targets to 2026 without the use of any of our greenbelt.