Protest against council building plans

Buy photos » Residents gathered outside the Town Hall to protest against building in Webheath. (s)

MORE than 50 residents staged a protest outside the Town Hall last night (Tuesday) against proposals to build over 3,000 new homes.

People from Webheath and the surrounding districts voiced their opposition ahead of a council meeting where Redditch Borough Council executive members decided to send plans to build in Webheath and Foxlydiate out to consultation.

Webheath Action Group chair David Rose said: "We are protesting against building proposals for Webheath ADR and the Foxlydiate area of Redditch.

"There are all sorts of issues that mean that land at Webheath and Foxlydiate is certainly not sustainable."

He added a report published last month by Severn Trent had shown Bordesley would be the most ideal location to build on in terms of sewerage, with Brockhill being the second most suitable, Foxlydiate the third and Webheath the least suitable.

"It will cost upwards of £2.5 million to provide sewerage all the way down to Priest Bridge which is the environmentally friendly option. They will if they take the cheaper option spend £100,000 on pumping stations that will pump the sewage to Spernal Ash which will increase the carbon footprint."

Mr Rose told those gathered this would not only increase the carbon footprint of the area, but would also increase the amount paid by Severn Trent customers due to the extra electricity used.

For more information on the councillors' decision to send the plans out to consultation, read this Friday's Standard.

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