The Black Country Plan Consultation

The NPPF states that ‘the planning system should be genuinely plan-led’ and that policies within Development Plans should set out an overall strategy for the pattern, scale and design quality of places, and make sufficient provision for housing, employment, retail, leisure and other commercial development; infrastructure (including transport and the provision of minerals), community facilities (such as health, education and cultural infrastructure); conservation and enhancement of the natural, built and historic environment, including landscapes and green infrastructure, and planning measures to address climate change mitigation and adaptation.

• During the summer of 2017 an Issues and Options consultation formed the first phase of the formal review. This sought views on the period that the review should cover; the evidence base to be prepared; cross boundary and strategic issues that will need to be addressed; the key challenges that the Black Country faces; the level of growth that should be provided for; and the opportunities that exist to accommodate this growth.
• In accordance with Government guidance, the BCA undertook a ‘Call for Sites’ where submissions of sites were requested from anyone who wished these to be considered for development. The Call for Sites opened for two periods between July 2017 and August 2020. The sites that were submitted can be viewed on the Black Country Interactive Site Map.
• The current consultation on the Draft Plan (known as Regulation 18 after the Town and Country Planning (Local Planning) Regulations 2012 which requires the consultation) runs from 6^th August to 5pm on the 11^th October 2021. It is at this stage that the BCA have published their draft policies and land allocations, and stakeholders (including the general public) are able to make their views on these known. Regulation 18 states that the BCA must take into account any representation (consultation response) made to them.
• Following the Regulation 18 consultation the BCA will take into account any representations and prepare the Draft Publication Plan – the version of the plan they intend to submit to the Secretary of State for examination. A consultation on the Draft Publication Plan is expected to be undertaken from August to September 2022 (this is referred to as Regulation 19). This consultation is for the purpose of ensuring the Plan has been prepared in accordance with all legal and procedural requirements, and that it meets the prescribed tests of soundness.

1. The Draft Black Country Plan consultation document includes:

• An introduction and background
• A vision for the Black Country to 2039
• A wide-ranging set of policies including those on the overarching spatial strategy, infrastructure, housing, transport, health and wellbeing, and the environment
• Tables listing the draft allocations for housing, traveller sites, employment land, waste management sites and mineral extraction sites (quarries) in each of the four local authority areas
• A number of appendices including the Wildlife Trust’s Draft Black Country Local Nature Recovery Opportunity Map and component definitions

2. The Draft Black Country Plan Sustainability Appraisal comprises two documents which seeks to inform and influence the Plan to ‘optimise its sustainability performance’ by considering and appraising its social, economic and environmental ‘performance’.

3. The Black Country Draft Policies Map depicts the location of the allocations described in the main consultation document on a Black Country-wide scale. Larger-scale policies maps are available for each of the individual local authority areas. There is also an interactive version of the map available.

In addition, there are a significant number of other documents available to view including Frequently Asked Questions, summaries of the allocations for each local authority area and a wide range of studies, assessments and reports which comprise the Black Country Plan Evidence Base (see How have sites been selected?).

The BCP divides the Black Country into two distinct area types 1) the area currently designated as green belt as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework and 2) non-green belt land, termed the urban area. The Black Country covers an area of 356 km², of which just under 73 km² is green belt and just over 283 km² is urban.

In summary, the following have been allocated for development in each of the two area types:

Dudley

Sandwell

Walsall

Wolverhampton

To find more detailed information you will need to view section 13 (from page 357) of the Draft Black Country Plan consultation document. This provides lists of the sites allocated in each local authority area with information such as site address, indicative development capacity (e.g. number of houses), site area in hectares and indicative delivery (development) timescale.

Further information on sites put forward through the Call for Sites process (both those selected and rejected for inclusion in the allocations) can be found in the Black Country Plan Site Assessment Report and appendices (see "How have sites been selected?").

The Site Assessment process comprised a number of stages:

• The four areas defined in the plan as ‘Strategic Centres’ (Brierley Hill, Walsall, West Bromwich and Wolverhampton) were not subject to the site assessment process as ‘Instead, broad targets for housing, retail and office floorspace have been provided for each Strategic Centre’.
• Sites with existing planning permission for 50+ homes were put through without assessment.
• Sites allocated for development in existing Development Plans (e.g. the Dudley Borough Development Strategy and the Walsall Site Allocation Document) were ‘carried forward into the Draft BCP using a “light touch” review process’. Only if there was new evidence to consider or they were proposed for a different use to that currently allocated were they assessed further. The BCA state this is appropriate because ‘the allocations have been tested at examination in recent years’.

For all other sites a Site Assessment Form was completed where the following information was collated:

• Sites were initially assessed against a number of ‘gateway constraints’. These are considered, in most cases, to be an absolute constraint on development. Sites which are subject to such constraints were ‘filtered out’ at this stage and not subject to further assessment. The gateway constraints are:

Filter 1:

* Notably Sites of Local Importance for Nature Conservation (SLINCs) are not a gateway constraint.

Sites without a gateway constraint were further assessed:

• For sites in the green belt the Green Belt Harm and Landscape Sensitivity Assessment results (see Green Belt Study and Landscape Sensitivity Assessment section) were entered into the form.
• A more detailed site assessment process in both the urban and green belt area was then undertaken:

Site Assessment Process

• A second filtering process was then undertaken for all sites in the urban and green belt area:

Filter 2:

• A third filtering process was then undertaken for all sites in the green belt area:

Filter 3:

• A Viability and Delivery Study was then undertaken on all sites in the urban and green belt area, including those that were carried forward from existing Development Plans and with existing planning permission for 50+ homes.

Viability & Delivery Study:

Once the above process was completed and the Site Assessment Form finalised a conclusion on the suitability of each site for development was reached and added to the bottom of the form. Example conclusions include Not suitable for residential or industrial purposes; Part of the site is considered suitable for release from the green belt; Site suitable for allocation.

• The spatial strategy was then reviewed and adjusted if necessary to take account of the sites that had been concluded to be suitable for allocation.
• The final stage of the process was to draft the allocations and proposed green belt boundary changes as below:

Draft allocations and green belt boundary changes:

The Black Country Plan Site Assessment Report appendices list all of the sites considered for inclusion in the Draft Plan. For each local authority area there are tables which show which sites have been selected, rejected and not assessed. The completed Site Assessment Forms are also included in the appendices.

All the documents in the Evidence Base are important in informing the plan, however, amongst these there are some which are of particular significance to how sites have been allocated for development:

Green Belt Study and Landscape Sensitivity Assessment:

The BCA commissioned two studies to inform the review of the green belt boundaries and to assess which sites within the green belt were most suitable for new development. The results of the studies have been used to complete the Green Belt Harm and Landscape Sensitivity Assessment section of the Site Assessment Forms (described above).

• Black Country Green Belt Study: The aim of this study was to undertake an assessment of the performance of green belt land against the five green belt purposes as set out in the National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF):

1. To check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas
2. To prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another
3. To assist in safeguarding the countryside from encroachment
4. To preserve the setting and special character of historic towns
5. To assist in urban regeneration, by encouraging the recycling of derelict and other urban land.

The study divided the green belt into parcels and assessed each of these against their contribution to the purposes of green belt and assigned one of the following values to each:

• Strong contribution
• Moderate contribution
• Weak / no contribution

This assessment was then used to identify the ‘potential harm’ of releasing land from the green belt. A four stage process was followed:

Step 1: Considered contribution ratings in more depth.

Step 2: Assessed potential impact of release on the integrity of the remaining Green Belt, including consideration of the strength of residual Green Belt boundaries.

Step 3: Assessed overall Green Belt harm.

Step 4: Considered harm resulting from alternative Green Belt release ‘scenarios’.

The output of the process was to assign each parcel of land a ‘harm rating’ of Very High, High, Moderate-High, Moderate, Low-Moderate, Low or Very Low. The results of the study are presented as a series of maps and tables.

• Black Country Landscape Sensitivity Assessment: The aim of this study was to provide an assessment of the extent to which the character and quality of the landscape abutting the West Midlands conurbation within the Black Country and around settlements in South Staffordshire is, in principle, susceptible to change as a result of development. The study highlights likely landscape and visual sensitivities within each assessment area and provides a broad landscape character based assessment.

The assessment divided the green belt into Landscape Areas and assessed each of these against the following criteria, assigning a value of either Low, Moderate or High to each:

• Scale (the scale of the landscape)
• Landform (the topographical complexity of the landscape)
• Landscape pattern and time depth (the complexity of landscape pattern and the extent to which the landscape has ‘time depth’ – a sense of being a historic landscape)
• Natural character (the presence of natural or semi-natural features that are important to landscape character)
• Built character (the extent that built character contributes to landscape character)
• Recreational value (the value of the area for recreation in which experience of the landscape is important)
• Perceptual aspects (qualities such as rurality, traditional land uses with few modern, human influences, sense of remoteness or tranquillity)
• Settlement setting (the extent to which the area relates or contributes to the form and pattern of existing adjacent settlement, and the character of the adjacent settlement edge)
• Visual prominence (visual prominence of the area and the character of skylines); and
• Inter-visibility (the degree of inter-visibility with surrounding designated landscapes and the role the area plays in contributing to valued views)

The output of the process was to assign an overall landscape sensitivity value to each Landscape Area of High, Moderate – High, Moderate, Low – Moderate or Low. The results of the process are presented as a series of maps and tables.

Historic Landscape Characterisation Study:

The purpose of this study was to carry out a strategic assessment of locally distinctive places, landscapes, buildings and structures of historic quality and character in the Black Country, covering both urban and green belt areas. The assessment reviewed existing evidence to help identify areas of historic environment significance (historic environment area designations).

The outcome of the study is the identification of several specific historic landscape typologies:

• Archaeological Priority Areas: areas likely to have high archaeological and historic interest.
• Areas of High Historic Townscape Value: areas where built heritage makes a significant contribution to local character and distinctiveness.
• Designed Landscapes of High Historic Value: landscape areas that make an important contribution to local historic character but do not meet the criteria for inclusion on the national Register for Parks and Gardens
• Areas of High Historic Landscape Value: The significance of these areas is likely to be derived from their archaeological and historic interests

The results of the process are presented as a series of descriptions and maps of the areas and features, and have been used in the Site Assessment process (described above).

1. Draft Local Nature Recovery Opportunity Map:

The Wildlife Trust and EcoRecord have produced a Draft Local Nature Recovery Opportunity Map (and a description of the components of this) which has been published as Appendix 18 in the Draft Black Country Plan. You can view the map and the component descriptions here.

This was commissioned by the BCA as there is a requirement in the Environment Bill to produce a Local Habitat Map that identifies the existing distribution of different habitat types and the location of areas already important for biodiversity, overlaid by locations considered suitable for delivering the outcomes and measures identified in a Statement of Biodiversity Priorities.

The Draft Black Country Local Nature Recovery Opportunity Map has been produced through analysis of local and national data sets including designated sites, Priority habitats, species distribution, land use and ecological connectivity. The map comprises a number of components which depict the areas of current high ecological value, ecological connectivity between these areas, and prioritises opportunities for investment in nature’s recovery on a landscape scale.

Although commissioned by the BCA and published in the BCP, the map was not used in the Site Assessment process (described above).

2. An Ecological Evaluation of the Black Coutry Green Belt:

In 2019 the Wildlife Trust and EcoRecord were commissioned by BCA to undertake an Ecological Evaluation of the Black Country Green Belt. This comprehensive study analysed a wide range of datasets and assigned a relative ecological value from 1 (low) to 5 (very high) to individual parcels of land (landscape units). Datasets used in the analysis included land use, habitat features, existing nature conservation designations and position in the landscape.

This work formed the basis for the Draft Local Nature Recovery Opportunity Map in the green belt and it is the Wildlife Trust and EcoRecord’s position that the results of the evaluation are valid and significant.

Although commissioned by the BCA and published as part of the Evidence Base, the results were not used in the Site Assessment process (described above).

3. Ecological assessment of sites put forward through the Call for Sites process:

Local Sites are areas of high nature conservation and geological value which are designated by local authorities following assessment against locally agreed criteria. While Local Sites do not receive statutory protection, they are protected by Policies in Local Plans and the National Planning Policy Framework, and are crucial in maintaining sites of value that are not statutorily protected.   

In Birmingham and the Black Country Local Wildlife and Geological Sites encompass what are termed Sites of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINCs) and Sites of Local Importance for Nature Conservation (SLINCs). This two-tier system aims to ensure that all sites of substantive local nature conservation and geological value are selected by assessing sites in both a sub-regional (i.e. Birmingham and the Black Country) and metropolitan borough or city context (either Birmingham, Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall or Wolverhampton). Local Sites Assessment Reports are completed to determine if a site should be designated as a SINC or SLINC.

In the BCP Site Assessment process SINCs are considered a ‘gateway constraint’ on development, whereas, unfortunately, SLINCs are not.

During the preparation stage of the BCP the Wildlife Trust was commissioned by Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton councils to undertake approximately 50 Local Sites Assessments, whilst Dudley Council undertook these themselves. The Local Site Assessment Reports have been endorsed by the Local Sites Partnership and redacted versions of these are available to view in the Black Country Plan Evidence Base.

The recommendations of the Local Site Assessment Reports have been used in the Site Assessment process (described above). For those sites designated as SINC and SLINC that have not been assessed during the preparation stage of the BCP the existing site designations have been used in the Site Assessment process.