As part of this process, it is important that the views of people living and working in the locality of the site are consulted on the proposals and provided with an opportunity to provide comments and feedback on what is currently proposed on the site.

In summary two options for the development of the Site are under consideration:

Option A: Up to 118 dwellings together with a care home accommodating up to 80 bedrooms, together with 1 hectare of natural greenspace incorporating public open space, landscaping and biodiversity enhancements.

Option B: Up to 142 dwellings together with 1 hectare of natural greenspace incorporating public open space, landscaping and biodiversity enhancements.

In respect of both options, permission will be sought to confirm that the principle of development is acceptable. This will include illustrative layouts indicating the extent of development proposed. It will also seek detailed approval of the proposed access onto Watling Street. All other matters relating to the detailed layout including the design of the houses, care home and landscaping would be subject to a ‘reserved matters’ application to the local planning authority. At this stage therefore the principle of developing the Site is being sought.

Both schemes will include a mix of housing types and tenures, including 50% affordable homes.

Existing trees and the majority of existing hedgerows will be retained and enhanced with new planting. The development will deliver significant biodiversity improvements, enhancing its importance for nature and including extensive new tree planting.

Public open space and play facilities will also be provided which will be accessible to all.

SITE CONTEXT

The Site extends to approximately 4.16 hectares (10.8 acres) and is located to the west of the Sir Robert Peel Community Hospital on the northern edge of the village of Mile Oak along Watling Street (B5404) and is located within the West Midlands Green Belt. The Site is unused and comprises a mix of grassland and scrub with a mature tree belt and hedgerows located along the northern, eastern and southern boundaries of the Site. However, none of these trees are protected under a Tree Preservation Order (‘TPO’).

In terms of accessibility, several bus stops are located along Watling Street (B5404), which provides regular services into Tamworth, Sutton Coldfield and Birmingham city centre via bus service 110. The Site would be served by Watling Street (B5404) and Sutton Road (A453), which connects to the Fazeley – Two Gates- Wilnecote Bypass (A5) and has direct links to the A38, the M6 Motorway and the M42 Motorway.

For the avoidance of doubt, the Site does not have any other non-statutory, statutory or Local Plan designations. In terms of flood risk, the Site falls wholly within Flood Zone 1 (i.e. the lowest risk of flooding) for both fluvial and surface water flooding, according to the

Environment Agency’s Flood Mapping Database. The Site is not surrounded by any historically sensitive development, and there are no Listed Buildings located within the vicinity of the Site.

It is relevant to note that the Site was historically planned to be utilised as part of the hospital’s development, which was initially scheduled to provide Accident and Emergency (‘A&E’) services. However, the ultimate design and development excluded this facility, and the land was subsequently acquired by the Applicants.

CONSIDERATIONS WHICH HAVE INFORMED THE PROPOSED DEVEOPMENT

The Site is located within the Green Belt and the implications of this designation are considered under Planning Policy Context. The Site has been promoted through the Lichfield District Council’s Local Plan process as part of the Lichfield Local Plan 2043 – Issues and Options Consultation (Regulation 18) (October 2024). As part of the Council’s consideration of the need to accommodate additional land for housing, its suitability was considered as part of a Stage 2 Green Belt Review (March 2021). This concluded that the Site played a ‘minor’ role in fulfilling Green Belt purposes and recommended that its suitability for housing should be progressed.

Currently the Council is preparing to publish a draft Lichfield Local Plan 2043 in May 2026 which will require sites to be identified to accommodate the need for additional housing. Currently the Council is unable to demonstrate a five -year supply of housing land which is required in order to ensure that local needs, including affordable housing needs, are met. Moreover the Applicant’s have commissioned specialist research which also confirms that there is a need for additional nursing and residential care beds within the District.

The application Site provides the opportunity to contribute towards meeting these needs in a sustainable location and on a site which is well defined by existing roads and built development.

PLANNING POLICY CONTEXT

Fazeley including Mile Oak is defined a Key Rural Settlement where new rural housing will be directed. Core Policy 6 of the adopted Local Plan (2015) confirms that development will be focused in Key Rural Settlements.

The application Site falls outside of a defined settlement boundary as confirmed within the Council’s Polices Map (2015) and therefore forms part of the countryside. However since the Local Plan was adopted, national policy guidance now requires that within Lichfield District 782 dwellings per annum should be provided compared with the 478 dwellings per annum provided for in the adopted local plan. On this basis it is considered that the spatial policies in the Local Plan which relate to the amount of new housing required, are out-of-date.

The Site’s location within the West Midlands Green Belt has also been examined and an assessment has been made as to whether it meets the definition of ‘grey belt’ within national planning policy. The definition as to what constitutes ‘grey belt’ land requires a consideration of three of the five purposes of the Green Belt. These are discussed below:

1. to check the unrestricted sprawl of large built-up areas

The Site does occupy land between Tamworth to the north-east and Royal Sutton Coldfield to the south-west. These settlements do not lie within Lichfield District but it is necessary to consider the potential for the proposed development on the unrestricted sprawl of these two towns, which comprise large built up areas. What is important to note is that Tamworth’s urban edge lies approximately 1.3kms from the Site and in the context of the PPG, the Site does not lie adjacent to this area. Nor is it considered to be ‘near’ to the urban edge. Consequently the site does not perform a function of checking the unrestricted sprawl or large built up areas.

2. to prevent neighbouring towns merging into one another

This applies to towns and not to villages and as confirmed under a) above the Site does not neighbour the towns of Tamworth and Sutton Coldfield

3. to preserve the setting and special character of historic towns

The Site does not lie adjacent to or within the setting of an historic town. Nor does it have any visual, physical, or experiential connection to the historic aspects of an historic town, the nearest within the District being Lichfield City. Accordingly, the proposed development does not conflict with this purpose

In terms of its impact on other Green Belt purposes including safeguarding the countryside from development and supporting urban regeneration including the recycling of derelict and urban land, the following points have been considered:

Although located within the Green Belt, the site is physically and visually separated from the wider countryside by major road corridors and surrounding development, and it does not contribute meaningfully  to Green Belt openness or rural character.

– Visual effects are largely restricted to short-range views from the immediate surroundings, particularly from a small number of dwellings on Watling Street and Affleck Avenue where initial effects range from moderate to major–moderate due to partial visibility and the removal of part of an existing hedgerow. These impacts reduce substantially over time as proposed frontage planting establishes, with residual effects typically reducing to slight or minimal, and only the closest residential receptors experiencing any remaining Moderate effect.

– For the majority of other receptors—including public rights of way, road users, canal towpath users, and more distant residential properties— either no views of the development are possible, or views are so limited, filtered, or distant that effects are Minimal or Negligible both during construction and in the long term.

– From a landscape perspective, the site exhibits low sensitivity due to its derelict condition, lack of intrinsic landscape value, and influence from adjacent busy transport routes, built form, and urban activity. The magnitude of change arising from development is assessed as medium, resulting in a slight significance of effect at the site level. The wider landscape character experiences only a negligible magnitude of change and a minimal significance due to the site’s separation from the broader, more intact landscape areas.

– The proposals incorporate extensive mitigation planting—including new oak trees along Watling Street and substantial native planting to the north and west—which will enhance local green infrastructure, improve boundary definition. Overall, the development results in limited and acceptable visual and landscape effects, with the majority of impacts reducing to minimal, negligible, or slight once mitigation matures. The proposals do not undermine the purposes or openness of the Green Belt, and the landscape and visual changes are minor and localised, with no significant adverse impacts on the wider area.

– It is important to note that the Council’s ability to meet its housing land targets for market and affordable dwellings, can only be achieved through the use of greenfield sites given the limited amount of previously developed land which is potentially available and suitable. Additionally since the Green Belt relates to the whole of the West Midlands conurbation, there is greater scope within other authorities including Birmingham City, for the delivery of urban regeneration and the re-use/recycling of derelict land.

The scheme has also been designed in order that the ‘golden rules’ applying to housing development on grey belt sites are met as set out in the table below:

Table 1: Contribution to the ‘Golden Rules’

DESIGN AND LAYOUT

The outline planning application will seek permission for a new access from Watling Street. However all other matters relating appearance, landscaping, layout and scale are reserved and would be subject to detailed approval in the event that out permission is granted. At this time further public consultation would occur.

In order to inform the potential for the Site to accommodate the type of development proposed careful consideration has been given to the existing constraints including the proximity to Sir Robert Peel Hospital, existing residents to the south of Watling Street, the dwelling along the western boundary and the A5 road to the north.

Map 2: Existing site constraints