A CONTROVERSIAL consultants’ report proposing to build up to 5,500 more new homes in south Worcestershire on top of the 24,500 already planned for the area has been heavily criticised by the body originally put in charge of overseeing the project.

The Board of the West Midlands Regional Assembly (WMRA) said the Government-commissioned Nathaniel Lichfield and Partners (NLP) study had worrying implications for the environment and the economy because the numbers are not sustainable.

In its response released today, the WMRA said it thought the proposals to build an additional 80,000 new houses across the region on top of the 365,600 already agreed over the next two decades would also have a detrimental impact on regenerating Birmingham and the Black Country.

WMRA chairman Councillor David Smith said he thought projected housing shortages had been addressed in their revised proposals immediately rejected by Government at the beginning of the year.

“The consultants’ spread of housing is very damaging to our strategy of regenerating the big city areas and building on derelict sites because house builders will always choose greenfield sites first,” said Coun Smith.

“By releasing many more greenfield sites in the shires the current success in regenerating Birmingham and the Black Country risks being put into reverse.

“Growth must be sustainable and deliverable. The Government’s housing study is all about housing numbers and says very little about all the supporting facilities that are needed to creating sustainable communities.

“In the current economic climate, delivery of housing will in any event be greatly slowed down; but for the sake of future generations, that is no reason to throw good planning out of the window now.” We reported in yesterday’s Worcester News how councillors and planning officers at Worcester, Wychavon and Malvern district councils, as well as Worcestershire County Council, have attacked the NLP figures, although their formal response is still at a draft stage.

Comments have to be submitted by Monday. A public inquiry will then take place in April before a ministerial decision is made later in the year.