Residents will get the chance to have their say on a major housing plan for Dudley borough with the leader of the council hailing their views as “central” to the work.

Council bosses gave the go-ahead for a consultation on the latest phase of the Black Country Plan at a meeting of the cabinet on Monday evening. 

The plan aims to identify land for housing and employment purposes across the Black Country whilst continuing to protect green belt land from developers.

The leader of the council also reiterated that Dudley Council was a “brownfield first” authority which means using previously developed land first, before looking at wider options including green belt. Councillor Patrick Harley said it was vital local people shaped the future of the plan. He said:

"I have made my feelings very clear on Dudley’s aspect of the Black Country Plan – we will leave no stone unturned in identifying previously developed land first to do all we can to protect green belt. We are brownfield first!

"It’s now up to residents to have their say, which is central to getting the right plan for Dudley. We will be preparing the detail for that consultation over the next few weeks with a view to making it live for comments from August.

"The plan looks to identify housing and employment land across the Black Country up to 2039 and without it, the region’s green belt may be under threat from developers."

The consultation will run throughout August and September.