SLP KDBH Extracts - Flipbook - Page 133
416.
Green Belt policy is set out in the national policy and will apply across the whole of the rural
area of the Borough, other than the inset areas around settlements and other major
developments. National policy makes clear that established Green Belt boundaries should
be altered only in exceptional circumstances and only when a local plan is being prepared or
reviewed. It also describes the circumstances when built and other development should be
considered as an exception to inappropriate development.
417.
The pressure on the Green Belt in Solihull has been intensified by the requirement for
development emerging from housing needs (both for the Borough and wider housing market
area); the lack of vacant and derelict land in the Borough; national guidance on windfall
housing; and local requirements for employment land, waste management and mineral
extraction. This is reflected both in the significant number of sites in the Green Belt in the
SHELAA, and the paucity of sites in the urban area.
418.
Significant adjustments to Green Belt boundaries are required in the UK Central Hub Area to
provide an appropriate planning framework for the Council’s ambitions for the HS2
Interchange and adjoining area, and to meet the needs of the key economic assets within
the area. Further significant adjustments are required elsewhere to meet local housing and
employment land needs and to address Solihull’s contribution toward the shortfall in new
housing land across the wider housing market area. Where land is to be deleted from the
Green Belt as part of this Plan, exceptional circumstances are considered to be met to justify
the change in boundaries, as required by the NPPF.
419.
The Solihull Strategic Green Belt Assessment (GBA) assesses the contribution that the
Green Belt in the Borough makes towards the purposes of including land in the Green Belt.
The GBA demonstrates that the Green Belt in the Meriden Gap between Solihull and
Coventry makes the most significant contribution, although the Green Belt on the edge of the
urban area and some settlements also contributes significantly. The findings have been used
to help justify the removal of land in the UK Central Hub Area from the Green Belt and to
identify suitable sites for new housing and other purposes elsewhere.
420.
A small number of minor changes will be made to address anomalies in Green Belt
boundaries across the Borough, taking into account an assessment of submissions made
during the preparation of this Plan.
421.
In total all of the proposed allocations relating to Green Belt sites amount to approximately
574ha42 out of a Borough total of approximately 11,945ha. This represents 4.8% of the total.
42
140ha for the HS2 Interchange site, 94ha for the employment allocation at Damson Parkway and 340 ha for the
residential allocations.
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