Widney Manor Road: 9 Green Belt Homes Approved by Station

Up to nine homes can be built on a Green Belt field off Widney Manor Road. Solihull Council approved the outline application, and the decision notice was issued on Monday 12 October. (Planning register, PL/2025/02016/PPOL)

The site is on the east side of the road, about 1.5km south of the town centre. Malvern and Brueton Park Local Nature Reserve’s woodland is immediately to the east.

It is a small scheme. What makes it worth reading is how it got through: under rules the government introduced in August, not under Solihull’s own plan.

Why a Green Belt field passed

A revised National Planning Policy Framework was published on 17 August 2026. Officers’ report to the Planning Committee says its decision-making policies apply in full from that day. Where the borough’s 2013 Local Plan disagrees with them, the old policies now carry “only very limited weight”. (Officers’ report to Planning Committee, 7 October 2026)

Under the new policy, building on the Green Belt is not “inappropriate” if the land is grey belt and a set of tests are met. Grey belt is Green Belt land that does not strongly serve certain of its purposes, such as stopping towns merging. Officers concluded this field passed every test:

• Grey belt: the field does not strongly contribute to the key Green Belt purposes, and nine homes would not undermine the Green Belt across the borough.
• Unmet need: Solihull’s own published figure is 2.13 years of housing land supply. At an appeal over 722 Kenilworth Road, the developer argued it was 1.11 years. The inspector did not settle the figure but found the shortfall significant either way.
• Sustainable location: Widney Manor station is a five-minute walk away. The report counts it as a “well-connected station”, meaning at least four trains an hour, or at least two an hour in one direction.
• Golden Rules: the national “Golden Rules” for Green Belt housing, which bring extra requirements including affordable housing, apply only to schemes of ten homes or more. At nine, they did not apply.

The report also found the site passed a separate test for land near stations. Either route was enough on its own.

How close it is to things

The 2013 Local Plan sets walking distances it would like new homes to meet. The report measured the site against them:

The food store and GP distances miss the aim. Officers gave that policy “very limited weight” because it conflicts with the new national transport policy.

What counted against it

Officers accepted three drawbacks:

• Losing an open field. They judged this “moderate harm” to the character of the area, in conflict with the 2013 plan.
• Wildlife. The developer’s own biodiversity figures show a net loss of 33.6%, from 4.93 habitat units to 3.27. The law requires a 10% gain, so the final design will have to deliver it on site, or buy off-site units or statutory credits.
• Density. National policy now expects at least 35 homes a hectare near well-connected stations. This scheme is 20. Officers accepted that as a balance between using the land well and respecting the character of the road.

Ten responses came in from eight addresses. They raised the loss of Green Belt, urban sprawl, traffic and pedestrian safety, pressure on schools and doctors, and the effect on Malvern and Brueton Parks. Some said the site should be decided through the new Local Plan instead.

What happens now

This is outline permission. Only the access onto Widney Manor Road has been approved. The layout, appearance, landscaping and size of the homes come later, in a “reserved matters” application.

The conditions officers recommended include:

• reserved matters within three years, and building to start within two years of their approval
• footways and crossing points on Widney Manor Road
• a badger check before work starts, and wildlife-sensitive lighting
• protection of retained trees
• investigation of ground gas, because of a historic landfill site to the south-west
• total floor space capped at 999 square metres, which the report links to the borough’s affordable housing policy

What it means for you

• Expect more of these. A Green Belt field within walking distance of a frequent station can now be argued as grey belt, case by case, while the new Local Plan is still going through. Each one still has to pass the tests above.
• The Local Plan does not stop this. Officers told Full Council last week that adopting the plan will not automatically take station-area land out of the Green Belt. National policy can still allow individual schemes. Our Local Plan report has the detail.
• Comment on the details. When the reserved matters application arrives it will carry the actual layout. Comments go through the council’s planning register under reference PL/2025/02016/PPOL.

New applications near you are on our Solihull planning news page.

Sources: Solihull planning register, PL/2025/02016/PPOL; Officers’ report to Planning Committee, 7 October 2026; Planning Committee agenda, 7 October 2026.