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Inside Out: Surprising Stories, Familiar Places

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Inside Out - West Midlands: Monday September 15, 2003

GARDEN DEVELOPERS

House building
Is a housing development heading to a back garden near you?

As house prices spiral as high as trendy loft apartments, there are big profits to be made by suburban property developers.

The search for land is now moving out of the city centre to leafy suburbs across the West Midlands.

It means homes can face demolition to allow developers to build more houses on the site.

The bigger your site the more likely a developer will knock at your door.

Is a housing development heading to a back garden near you?

Julie Walker
Julie Walker leads the protest

At Great Barr, in Sandwell, house owner John Owen has spent 30 years cultivating his massive garden.

He has vowed to stop developers getting their hands on his plot of land even though his neighbours are succumbing to the temptation.

Some success

In Sutton Coldfield in Birmingham Julie Walker has already fought off one application now faced with a second she is determined to win.

Julie has joined a local action group who are fighting 17 applications by developers to demolish houses in Sutton Coldfield.

Having heard how Sutton Coldfield have taken their fight to the top, John Owen from Great Barr hopes to get some answers from Sandwell's head of planning.

John Owen with Ashley Blake
John Owen is looking for answers

But developers can resubmit plans until they are successful.

Twenty miles away in Stourbridge plans to demolish two houses near a conservation area have been turned down.

The developers now intend to build three houses, 10 apartments and underground parking.

The neighbours are definitely not happy.

Giles Horwitch Smith showed Inside Out his latest development in Harborne, Birmingham. He sold his Internet business and moved into property. He said;

"The market place is interesting it is a very exciting time.

"Property development has picked up a bad name but it's a business involved in improving the city and all the areas around it."

Suburban development
Suburban development

Fears over development

Jack Edmonds enjoys his garden but he is worried about the planned development.

He fears it is a problem facing many house owners across the West Midlands.

As Jack seeks sanctuary in his garden, it might only be a matter of time before the peace and quiet is lost to the builders.

Local residents held a public meeting to confront the solicitor for the developers.

Beneath the polite suburban veneer it is getting nasty.

Developers may be in for a lot of flack but they have been creating new lifestyles and revitalising areas all be it at a hefty price.

See also ...

On the rest of the web
Birmingham City Council Planning
National Federation of Builders
National House Building Council (NHBC)
Royal Institute of Chartered Surveyors (RISC)
Sandwell Metropolitan Borough Council
Save Sutton

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Readers' Comments

We are not adding any new comments to this page but you can still read some of the comments previously submitted by readers.

Angela Lawlor
GUARD Sutton Coldfield who were featured on the programme would welcome contact from any other groups around the Country who are fighting similar developments, we can be contacted via our web site link on this page.

Mike
The piece on backland development was a very one sided affair in favour of those people that want the status quo maintained forever. Life is changinging so is the way in which we live. I am one of those evil people who have signed up to selling both my house and garden to developers and will not make a fortune but it will give me a chance to pursue my plans for my near retirement.

The development on the back of ten houses and will require one of the houses being demolished. Interestingly though of the ten tenants over half are choosing to remain in their houses. What concerns me is the other side of this particular coin namely where do we build new houses, on the green belt? The suggestion that that we should develop old factory sites is nonsense, no one wiould want to live in many areas of the suggested development areas.

I have been physically threatened by the leader of the local action group. The not in my back yard group are very blinkered and if they have their way will lead to the destruction of the green belt. It is so easy for people bury their heads in the sand without considering any form of solution to the huge demand from people for housing.

Dawn Bayley
I am absolutely disgusted by all these proposed developments in Great Barr. The developers are not content with building on gardens they now want to knock down perfectly good houses. The developers use whatever scare tactics they can to get people to sell their houses. People are told that their neighbours have agreed to sell up, when they haven't and that if you don't agree we'll build three storey buildings rather than two. Something needs to be done urgently so that Great Barr doesn't turn into the inner city where children don't know what grass is as it's all been built upon.

Catherine
devolpments need to stop being on to of your own garden, we still need our own personal space outdoors, if they are trying to encourage children to stop watching tv and playing on the computer then we all need a garden.

Mark and Jane Usher
We were very interested in last night's programme and I am sure like many of your viewers we are fed up with being bombarded with unsolicited letters from prospective developers wishing to purchase our home and surrounding properties. We love our private location in Lichfield and have no intention of giving in to the JCB's and bulldozers. Great Programme - keep it coming!

Louise Dale
The developers are taking over in Great Barr. As a suburb we are covered by two Councils Sandwell and Birmingham neither of which discusses with the other what plans they are passing for the area. Houses with nothing wrong with them are being knocked down to make way for flats over looking peoples homes which if it had been an extension requested to the previous property would have never been allowed.

This must lead us to believe that not only are the developers making vast amounts of money but also so are the councellors who pass these plans with little or no thought to those that have to live with it. There are plenty of small derelict factory units where the land could be put to the same use. So why are the developers not using this if land is at the premium they would have us believe.

Sarah Knapp
You may like to broaden your scope and look at some of the developments that are being tried in the countryside!! It is becoming very difficult to buy even tiny properties because they have a lot of land and developers are snapping them up in the hope that they will get planning permission to build many homes on the single plot. This means that house prices for these properties spiral beyond the reach of locals who are just looking for a home.



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