Homes plan thrown out

Controversial plans to build 360 new homes on green belt land near Wolverhampton have been thrown out following a flood of objections.

The bid by Permission Homes to transform the key 42-acre site in Featherstone, between the M54 and Brookhouse Lane, was rejected by South Staffordshire District Council planning bosses last night.

Apartments, detached homes and affordable housing were on the cards plus playing fields, tennis courts, and a bowling green.

But councillors, who gathered at the authority's regulatory committee meeting, unanimously rejected the plans on the grounds they would be harmful to the green belt.

Councillor Bob Cope, district councillor for Featherstone and Shareshill, told the meeting increased traffic along the A460 Cannock Road was also a concern.

"When the M56 toll road is built in 2012 it will ease traffic on the A460, but until then applications like this are premature," he said.

It is believed more than 1,000 residents complained to the council.