RESIDENTS are breathing a sigh of relief after councillors rejected plans to turn Solihull greenbelt land into a Gypsy site.
Solihull Borough Council decided School Road, Hockley Heath, was inappropriate because of ecological and traffic concerns.
Meanwhile, a crucial High Court hearing to decide the fate of a group of Travellers who moved into the Eaves Green Lane site in Meriden, last April, will now be heard in Birmingham, on Wednesday.
Joan Gledhill, a member of Residents Against Inappropriate Development (RAID) in Hockley Heath, said: “There has been an unprecedented level of opposition to the School Road development.
“We are relieved, we have always maintained that it was an unsuitable site. Our prime concern has been to protect the greenbelt against any further development.”
David McGrath, from Meriden RAID, said he was also relieved but wanted the council to use their powers to stop any future similar planning applications.
In response, Coun Ian Courts said: “We have to deal with planning applications that come in, If we do not deal with planning applications that come in, we will end up in court.
“We accept the speaker’s concerns, we have to be fair to everyone.”
Other greenbelt sites which were turned down at the packed-out council meeting yesterday included land between Waste Lane and Old Waste Lane, Balsall Common; Eaves Green Lane in Meriden and land adjacent to the Pleck on Shadowbrook Lane.
The sites which were chosen for further consideration included council-owned land at Damson Lane, Solihull; the Warren, Bickenhill Lane and the Haven, Catherine-de-Barnes.
Decisions on two plots in Earlswood would be taken at a future date.
RAID have been maintaining a 24-hour-vigil for more than 650 days after gypsies moved onto Eaves Green Lane.
Nikki Sinclaire, MEP for the West Midlands, had called on the council to consider the “tension, stress and trauma,” caused to villagers who are fighting against the illegal development
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