The Black Country Plan, jointly produced by the four Black Country councils (Dudley, Sandwell, Walsall and Wolverhampton), is a local plan to steer future development over a 15 year period that will allocate land for housing and employment up to 2038.

The draft version of the plan was published on 25 June 2021 and can be read here. 

The Wildlife Trust for Birmingham and the Black Country believe the benefits that green space and wildlife bring to society, from flood water management to improving people’s health and wellbeing, must be recognised and be at the heart of planning decisions. We have therefore contributed to the evidence gathered for the plan, including our draft Black Country Local Nature Recovery Opportunities Map (see section 18 of the plan).

You can read more about the evidence we provided previously to local authorities in this article from the Spring 2020 edition of our Wildlife magazine. Our recent work towards a Black Country Local Nature Recovery Strategy will be published in the near future.

The public consultation on the plan commences in August 2021, details of which will be published on the Black Country Plan website here. The Wildlife Trust is currently assessing the proposed development allocations in order to respond to the consultation fully, and will share our consultation response with our supporters once submitted.

Should you have any queries relating to the Draft Black Country Plan or would like our advice regarding individual sites, please contact us at planning@bbcwildlife.org.uk.