Draft Regulation 18 Sandwell Local Plan

Visitor facilities and attractions for canal and towpath users in Sandwell are very limited at present. This means that touring canal boats have little reason to linger in the Borough.. The new main line and Tame valley canals are bleak and isolated through much of their length. The plan should aim to enhance the attraction of Owen Street and Smethwick for canal users, and improving links to the BCLM, Dudley Zoo and the Dudley Canal Trust.

Although the Vaughan Trading Estate and Rattlechain developments will bring benefits, this area is beset by traffic problems, lack of public transport along the A457 and poor access for pedestrians and cyclists.to the canal cycleway.. Heavy rain causes flooding across the A457 near the Vaughan Estate. Distribution developments should not be allowed, and the developments must make a contribution to addressing these problems. The Rattlechain site should give access to the Canal and Sheepwash open space..

Green Belt land should not merely prevent the coalescence of built up areas, but fulfil a range of functions including access for residents to natural landscapes. Sandwell is surrounded by the conurbation, so local areas of 'countryside' need to be protected.

Green infrastructure is particularly important in densely populated areas like Sandwell.

The intention of the ‘flexible’ policy SEC4 is welcome, but the stringent conditions controlling housing or other developments in Clause 1b will prevent desirable redevelopment in many cases. In contrast employment development (Clause 1a) will be supported without specific controls. This will perpetuate unsatisfactory employment uses in residential areas, while preventing housing or other developments that may improve residential amenity, reduce traffic problems etc. There is a need for low cost premises, but a journey through the Borough presents a dispiriting picture of marginal businesses in tatty premises which does not fit with the bold aims set out in the Local Plan’s vision for 2041.
An example is Castle St, High St Tipton (site 2942). This highly visible site on a busy through route generates pavement parking; parking would be an issue for the proposed cycle routes on High Street and Castle Street. The site comprises an unsightly, complex, mix of poor-quality units: some vacant, in different ownerships and let to a changing array of occupiers. Non-industrial units include a taxi firm, gym, snooker club, playcentre and the occasional cannabis farm. Redevelopment could improve the amenity of neighbouring housing, improve the setting of a listed building, and address parking problems. The conditions listed in clause 2 make it unlikely that a private investor will risk the complex, costly and long-term process of land assembly. In reality, nothing is likely to happen on complex sites without a public sector programme of comprehensive redevelopments as mentioned in Policy SEC1.4
The policy should contain a clause favouring developments (1a and 1b) which demonstrate a positive impact on the wider local environment, economy and climate change mitigation..

Policy supported. There is a local site, identified as a wildlife corridor, which received permission in 2022 after the developer had cleared vegetation in advance of a planning site visit.

The development of a cycle network is welcome, but.an alternative is proposed to Route 118 in Tipton Green.
Figure 13, and the interactive map shows cycle route 118 in Tipton Green running from the A4123 down Dudley Road, turning right into High Street and on to Tipton Station. A branch diverges down Castle Street crossing Park Lane West to link to the path along the former communication canal to the New Main Line Canal (National Cycle route 81). Both routes are very challenging in terms of road layout and traffic conditions.
Dudley Road is on the Stourbridge to Wednesbury key route and is frequently queuing between High Street and the A4123 Birmingham New Road with associated congestion along High Street. High Street/Dudley Road junction is often blocked as two streams of traffic converge. One side of Dudley Road has residential parking and access to a care home; on the other side there is access to the H&R oil depot used by tankers. There is no space for a safe cycle lane and the Dudley Road High Street crossroads has seen several collisions recently.
Both routes will have to cross the A457. This busy key route will carry much more traffic when the major housing site at Coseley Village is complete.
There is an alternative which would provide a more attractive and safer canalside route from the A4123 to Owen Street centre and the railway station. It would also provide an attractive link from Tipton railway station to heritage attractions such as the Dudley Canal Trust and the BCLM.
The route would branch off the new A4123 cycleway west of the junction with Dudley Road, descending to the Dudley Tunnel Canal (there is half-completed spur already). It would follow the towpath (National Cycle Route 54) under Dudley Road to a new bridge over the Birmingham Old Main Canal near where the two canals meet. It would continue along the Canal towpath towards Tipton, crossing under the A457. It would then follow Route 118 along the former Communication Canal to Union Street in the town centre and the New Mainline Canal (National Cycle route 81).A branch would link to Owen Street via Unity Walk.
It would require investment in a new canal crossing and possibly an alteration to the canal to make room for access to the bridge. The investment is quite modest in comparison with the work entailed in building the Owen Street road tunnel. It would also provide another object of interest in the townscape.
Bold investments can have dramatic effects. Some years ago in Warwick, the death of a young cyclists was the catalyst for the building of a cycle bridge over the River Avon linked to a segregated cycleway along a busy road. This has become a well-used route to school and has created new walking and cycling opportunities.
The proposed cycle route is safer and more attractive than those in the Plan. It would tie in with the Plan’s vision for Dudley Port and Tipton: “Further opportunities exist to build upon the existing infrastructure, making the canals and greenspace a destination, linking to wider attractions such as the Dudley Canal Trust, Black Country Museum and Dudley Zoo, and joining up with Tipton High Street.” (paragraph 3.36). A map will be sent via email.

Support the aspiration in paragraph 3.36
"Further opportunities exist to build upon the existing infrastructure, making the canals and greenspace a destination, linking to wider attractions such as the Dudley Canal Trust, Black Country Museum and Dudley Zoo, and joining up with Tipton High Street." My representation 696 sets out an enhancement to a cycle route that would provide a pleasant and convenient canalside link between Tipton High Street and railway station to the attractions listed above.

The route along Victoria Street from Great Western Street Metro stop to the town centre needs to be made more inviting to attract visitors. Relocation of businesses not appropriate in a town centre should be encouraged allowing redevelopment for high density quality housing.

If anything, there are too many parking spaces. Some could be redeveloped for housing which would bring more custom for the shops.