A NEW village is set to be created as part of proposals to build more than 5,500 homes across Wyre Forest over the next two decades.

Wyre Forest District Council has published the latest version of the Local Plan, which sets out how the area will be shaped up to 2036, ahead of an Overview and Scrutiny Committee meeting next week.

The Pre-submission Plan detailing where the council thinks new homes should be built sets out a series of ambitious proposals including the creation of a 1,400 home village at Lea Castle.

There are also plans for a significant housing development of more than 1,400 houses on the eastern side of Kidderminster including sites in Offmore and Comberton, Husum Way and Stone Hill North.

Government methodology for assessing housing need has set Wyre Forest a target of 276 per year and while the council said it will utilise all available brownfield sites, bosses are warning there will have to be a loss of green fields to meet requirements.

When the authority consulted on the ‘Preferred Options’ last year, it provoked a strong response from thousands of residents worried about the loss of much loved fields, as well as increased pressure on roads and services.

Previous proposals for a new major housing development adjacent to Spennells in Kidderminster and a number of other sites across the district including land at the back of Baldwin Road are not being progressed further.

Councillor Ian Hardiman, Wyre Forest District Council’s Cabinet member for Housing, Health and Wellbeing said: “We need to make sure that we have enough homes in the district to meet our current housing need as well as for our children and grandchildren.

“We want the local economy to grow and offer employment opportunities for them too. The Local Plan identifies the sites where the developments will go.”

He added: “We know how important the countryside and rural character of the district is. In an ideal world we would only ever look to develop on brown field land, but we have reached a stage where there are not enough sites available to meet the demand for new homes needed for our families in the future.

“The Government’s method of calculating housing need means that over 5,500 houses need to be built in the period from 2016 to 2036.

“While we have had no option but to include sites in the Green Belt, we are determined that not one more house will be built on the Green Belt than is necessary.

“The new village at Lea Castle can accommodate 1,400 homes and the plan makes sure that there is a physical gap both from Kidderminster and from Cookley.

“The intention is that it should have its own facilities including a primary school and should not therefore have an adverse impact on nearby schools.”

However, chair of the Local Plans Panel, Councillor Fran Oborski said: “I am disappointed that the decision by the political administration to ensure they, since May 2018, had a majority on the Panel - coupled with their removal of voting rights from Town Council representatives from Bewdley, Stourport and Kidderminster - has led to a final Pre-submission Plan which is very much, as far as in some instances of site selection and the number of affordable homes to be required in developments of over 10 houses, a Conservative Party Plan rather than a unanimously recommended Draft Plan.”

She also urged all residents to have their say on the proposals during the consultation.

A public consultation on the document is set to be launched on November 1 and will run until December 17, while eight drop in sessions will also be held across the district.

The Local Plan and information on how to submit comments will be available at www.wyreforestdc.gov.uk/localplanreviewfrom Thursday, November 1.