Lack of affordable housing could drive local people away

Planners on the West Midlands Regional Assembly are trying to halt a trend of people and jobs moving away from large built up areas.

Their proposals form part of the regional planning guidance which is hoping for government approval next year.

They suggest housing growth should be focused on Birmingham, the Black Country, Coventry and north Staffordshire through a 'renaissance' in these areas.

But the leader of South Shropshire District Council Heather Kidd accused the policy of neglecting rural areas and other migration trends.

"The whole of the strategy is focused on doing up and regenerating urban areas," she said.

"That is fine, but it is not people moving out of Wolverhampton and other urban areas but people moving in from the south east of England with huge lots of money and buying up the houses here.

I fear we will lose money in the pot for us to build and that we will lose our young people and families Heather Kidd, South Shropshire District Council

"The strategy doesn't address this at all."

She added that south Shropshire, with a population of 40,000, was having the number of new homes which can be built in the area before 2011 cut to 325.

She said representatives from the rest of Shropshire, Worcestershire, Warwickshire and Stratford-upon-Avon had all expressed similar concerns.

But Rose Poulter, director of policy for the West Midlands Local Government Association, said: "The issue we are trying to address at a regional level is to stem centralisation of people and jobs for our major urban areas.

"This is particularly to enable major urban areas to be able to support their own so that rural areas can be retained as environmental assets."

She said Ms Kidd's concerns would be looked at but said a balance had to be struck between the competing needs in the region.