Hockley Heath land set for new Solihull Gypsy site battle

Residents in a Solihull village have launched an action group to fight plans for a Gypsy and Traveller site.

Hockley Heath Community – Residents Against Inappropriate Development (HHC-RAID) was formed after land in School Road was put forward in Solihull Council’s ‘call for sites’ exercise to decide how future accommodation needs of Gypsies and Travellers will be met.

Joan Gleadhill, from the group, said: “It is all about protecting the green belt, we are not against Gypsies and Travellers, we are against and would fight any inappropriate development taking place there. Development on adjacent land has been consistently denied by the council because of its green belt status and the same should be done here.”

She added: “The site is on the council’s provisional list, not the list of preferred sites as that hasn’t been drawn up yet, and we are hoping that it won’t be on there.

“We have rallied everyone in the village to put objections to the council and we are in the process of putting together a formal case to say why the site is unsuitable for development.”

The group also raised concerns about safety, saying School Road is “a narrow lane with hazardous bends” and “is wholly inappropriate for the volume and type of additional traffic this proposal would generate”.

It also said there was a lack of medical and education services in the village.

They have enlisted the help of David McGrath, chairman of Meriden RAID, which won its battle against Gypsies setting up an illegal camp in their village.

Several other sites in the borough have been proposed as part of the consultation, including at Balsall Common and Hampton-in-Arden.

Solihull Council has stressed that no decisions on site allocations have been made and said all suggested sites will need to be closely assessed before the council undertakes further consultation.

Councillor Ian Courts, cabinet member for economic development, said: “Each suggested site will be assessed for its potential suitability and updated evidence of need will be considered before a list of preferred sites is published for further consultation with our residents.”