The Role of Town Centres
At the heart of the Borough are the new developments of the Waterfront and Merry Hill which, over recent years, have resulted in more than 8,000 new jobs. The existing UDP does not propose any ways that these developments, together with Brierley Hill, can evolve for the benefit of local communities and the Borough as a whole or indeed overcome some of the weaknesses of the Brierley Hill Area including transport.
There is now an exciting opportunity to create a new urban centre in the Brierley Hill Area which integrates Waterfront, Brierley Hill centre and Merry Hill based on a well considered plan-led approach.
The Brierley Hill Area is not unique in terms of the challenge of change. The Borough's other main centres of Dudley, Stourbridge and Halesowen have and will continue to undergo changes.
What is important is that a clear vision for the future of all these centres are developed during the review of the UDP.
The Council is keen to seek views on the future role of the Borough's centres; however, there are some basic principles that the Council is keen to promote:
- the continuation of the Borough's diverse range of centres as a focus for a variety of economic, cultural and social activity;
- sustainable mixed use and well designed development.
- the accessibility of all the Borough's centres.
The role of the Borough's many local centres is crucial to the well-being of local communities. The existing UDP recognises this and the Council is not at the moment proposing major changes to this approach.
A separate magazine has been produced by the Council that looks in more detail at the issues surrounding Town Centres.
Car travel is by far the most important mode of personal transport, but this dependence on the car is just not sustainable for two major reasons. Firstly, road traffic is largely powered by the use of fossil fuels which produce pollution. Whilst engines are being improved to reduce some pollutants, the use of fossil fuels will always result in the production of carbon dioxide, recognised as the major factor in global warming. Secondly, the growth in car ownership is greater than the Country's capacity to provide road space for these vehicles, both in terms of the cost of provision and in terms of the damage to the environment caused by the construction of new roads. Yet journeys by car continue to increase while bus journeys decrease. Congestion is getting worse. It is becoming increasingly difficult to move goods and people around. This situation is familiar in all large urban areas and in fact all the predictions say that the problem is going to get worse.
Dudley Council has already recognised these problems. The existing UDP sets out a balanced approach to transport, recognising the need to improve movement by car, public transport, cycle and on foot. However, since the last UDP was prepared major changes have taken place in Government policy and public opinion. The new approach is summarised on the next page.
These early documents relate to the preparation of the Dudley Unitary Development Plan and chart the stages and position of policy in the Plan at each stage of the review. They are intended for reference only and the content does not necessarily reflect the current state of play.
