David vs Goliath - a Community’s Fight Against Sandwell Council
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David vs Goliath - a Community’s Fight Against Sandwell Council
Our new feature writer, 'The Voice of Sandwell' reports.
Counter Cut’s content this month is sponsored by The New Talbot.
Sandwell borough ranks among the bottom of nearly every development index nationally. The 300,000 residents have been living with a four-decade old tag of living in one of the most deprived boroughs of the British isles.
One of the most overlooked and impending causes of the slow and steady degradation of quality of life in Sandwell is the loss of green spaces.
Several studies highlight a direct correlation between green space exposure and reduced stress levels, more positive mood, less depressive symptoms, better emotional well-being, improved mental health and behaviour, and decreased psychological distress in adolescents.
Needless to say, these are essential for one’s well being, with wider effects on family life, social outlook and a strong impact on one’s quality of life overall. When the evidence is so clear, why do local authorities continue to go about the destruction of green spaces against the wishes of local residents?
In Sandwell’s case, one stand-out reason is the Council’s failure to deliver much-needed affordable housing combined with the steady rotting of local infrastructure which has resulted in the loss of critical investments and a lack of job creation for over four decades.
With Sandwell waking up from its slumber after 50 years of neglect, the Council have identified their ‘silver bullet’, aimed at tackling the housing crisis they face.
Sandwell Council’s silver bullet? The destruction of green space in Brandall.
Sandwell Labour’s controversial and rushed plan to build hundreds of houses at Brandhall Green Space - 37 hectares of land in the most nature-deprived part of Sandwell - is one of the most talked about issues across the West Midlands.
The Green Space is rich with biodiversity, boasting over 2000 trees, 54 varieties of documented bird species, a thriving habitant for bats, badgers and even muntjack deer. The Council’s plan would destroy this natural oasis forever.
Geology enthusiasts will also be well aware of what the locals call ‘pudding rock’ - an enville formation of a prehistoric outcrop of natural rock that is over 400 million years old.
Residents argue that if these aren’t good enough reasons to save one of the most naturally rewilded green spaces in the borough, the risk of flooding must surely be.
The Brandhall Green Space sits on a flood plain with the highest risk of flooding in Sandwell. The River Tame flows through the area and the green space hosts at least two natural springs.
Concreting over the flood plain may well cause flash floods affecting hundreds of local residents and a break-neck burden on local infrastructure, injecting hundreds of carbon emitting vehicles on the adjacent dual carriageway (already notorious for regular accidents and an unacceptably high fatality rate).
Why are Sandwell Council pursuing such a risky project?
Context is key. Sandwell Council has been without an official opposition for nearly two decades leading to one-party-rule for over 45 years. The lack of a credible opposition removed any serious means of scrutiny to the local authority in Sandwell. The ruling Labour party had grown used to bulldozing community assets against the wishes of their residents.
Why is Brandhall Green Space any different?
In 2021, nine Conservative Councillors were elected in Sandwell which included a change of guard in Old Warley ward, where Brandhall Green Space is situated.
A local resident, Jay Anandou, was elected as a Conservative Councillor for Old Warley - a ward within the Warley parliamentary constituency which remains one of the safest Labour seats in the country.
One month on from his election, Cllr Anandou galvanised local residents opposed to the Council’s development plans and The Brandhall Green Space Action Group was born. Since then, the Action Group - made up of local residents cutting across political divides - has grown into a movement, fighting back against the establishment’s injustice.
The Action Group has held protests in front of the Council at every council meeting since their formation. They host walks and events at the Green Space itself and organised a Brandhall Exhibition at a local community centre to showcase the wealth of Brandhall to local residents.
The campaign speaks to a new era in Sandwell politics. One in which the voice of Sandwell’s residents is heard. The campaign, whilst focussed on saving the Green Space, has inadvertently highlighted wider concerns over Sandwell Council’s opaque decision-making process and inconsistent approach to delivering their strategies.
In Brandhall, campaigners have been steadfast in highlighting inconsistencies and omissions in the environmental assessment and reinforcing the overwhelming opposition from local residents, which they feel are ignored by the local authority. The former golf course was closed in 2019, controversially deemed ‘surplus to requirement’, but campaigners argue that little consideration was given to concerns over on the wider value of the green space.
When considering a development, such as the proposed housing on Brandhall Green Space, Sandwell Council uses an SHLAA methodology (Strategic Housing Land Availability Assessment) utilises a standardised template specifically designed to "offer a clear, equal and structured method of assessment for all sites” and to document and validate levels of limitation and constraint upon a "developable area".
Had an SHLAA site assessment occurred, allowing the Brandhall site to be compared fairly and equitably to other SHLAA assessed sites, the resident-led Action Group argue that Brandhall would have been rejected due to comparative, identical features demonstrating similar levels of limitation and constraint upon developable area to those rejected elsewhere for housing by the Council.
Brandhall Green Space received negative ‘Red’ and ‘Pink’ RAG Ratings across all categories in the Sustainability Appraisal.
Where do local residents stand on the proposal?
The community's response has been made abundantly clear via a public consultation in 2021.
83% did not agree with the proposal to build new homes
75% rejected all masterplan options proposed
71% of respondents did not share the Council’s vision and aspirations for Brandhall
The large majority of comments related to preserving the green space
Birmingham and Black Country Wildlife Trust have also objected to the site being included in the Black Country Plan (a strategic housing plan across all local authorities in the Black Country). They recommend that the entire site be designated a Site Of Importance For Nature Conservation (SLINC) due to the range of flora, fauna, and wildlife onsite and the contribution that Brandhall makes to the wider wildlife network.
There is both an inequality in access to, and widely recognised lack of, green space in Sandwell. Old Warley ward has 76% less access to green space than the Borough average, yet Sandwell MBC seem content to disregard residents’ extensive concerns.
Residents also fear the disruption of years of construction work on their doorstep
According to current estimates, construction on the site will last at least three years, and is likely to include over £100m worth of contracted work – The stakes are high, for residents and for the vested interest groups involved in the proposed development.
The Brandhall issue represents the best and worst of local politics. Whilst the establishment seems to ignore the wishes of its own citizens and ride rough-shod over their own policies and directives, local residents in Sandwell are doing everything in their power to save a valuable local asset.
Residents have at least found a voice to speak for them in Cllr Anandou and a dedicated residents’ action group, but taking a stand against the might of Sandwell’s Labour administration is no mean feat and will be a long-fought campaign of attrition requiring determination and grit.
The Brandhall Green Space Action Group will need the wit and ambition of ‘David’ to best Sandwell’s ‘Goliath’.
‘The Voice of Sandwell’ writes in-depth stories from across the Borough, exclusively for Counter Cut.
The Brandhall Green Space Action Group can be found on facebook here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/brandhallgreenspace. They can be contacted by email at friends.of.brandhall.greenspace@gmail.com
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