A government planning inspector has backed Dudley Metropolitan Borough Council’s Local Plan proposals that aim to protect Green Belt land around Kingswinford, West Midlands, from development. In a letter dated 8 January 2026, Planning Inspector Louise Nurser said she “concurs” with the council’s position that Green Belt boundaries should not be reviewed and backed the authority’s proposal to designate Corbett Meadow as a local green space.
The inspector’s findings — published by the council on 16 January 2026 — are a significant win for campaigners who have opposed development on sites such as The Triangle (the Kingswinford Triangle, at the junction of Swindon Road, Lodge Lane and Kidderminster Road) and Corbett Meadow. The council has promoted a ‘brownfield-first’ approach, arguing it can meet much of its housing requirement by redeveloping previously developed land rather than releasing countryside for housing.
Developers and their consultants (reported submissions by Lichfields) argued that Dudley’s housing need under the revised standard-method could be around 24,990 dwellings for the plan period. Dudley’s Local Plan as submitted proposes roughly 10,470–10,500 homes, prioritising brownfield sites. Inspector Nurser said the plan, with main modifications, could be capable of being found sound and that the legal tests (including the duty to co‑operate) had been met, but she also noted the plan falls short of the revised standard-method requirement and will need to be reviewed once relevant regulations are in force.
Council leaders and local campaign groups welcomed the inspector’s letter. Campaigners such as the Wall Heath and Kingswinford Green Belt Group have campaigned for years to protect local fields and woodlands from housing development. The inspector’s support for not reviewing Green Belt boundaries and for designating Corbett Meadow as a Local Green Space gives the council stronger grounds to resist Green Belt releases — but final legal protections depend on the council making the required main modifications, consulting on them, and formally adopting the plan.
While the inspector’s findings represent a major step toward protecting the local countryside, they are not an absolute or permanent settlement of the borough’s housing numbers: the inspector explicitly signalled that the plan will need prompt review under future regulations to ensure compliance with the updated national framework.
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