'It's completely losing its character': We visit West Midlands village near Birmingham set to become a town
We take a trip to Dorridge to find out what residents really think about plans to turn village into a town
It is impossible not to marvel at Dorridge's splendour as you stroll around the village, taking in the enormous houses, green spaces, and residents walking their dogs everywhere on a rainy Thursday morning.
You would believe you were in a different world, despite it being only a 15 minute train journey from Birmingham's Moor Street station, once you arrive in Dorridge.
The affluent village is often named one of the best places to live in the West Midlands, with good schools, transport links and high average house prices.
According to research, the village boasts a population of about 11,068 people. While there is no official correct size for a village in the UK, you can’t help but wonder if it is even a village with a population of that size.
According to the ONS, it actually straddles this meaning quite closely. According to its size classification, areas with a population between 5,000 and 19,999 verge between being classified as a small towns or a large village.
Under new proposals Dorridge along with Knowle and Bentley Heath would be treated as a single town for planning purposes. Similarly, Balsall Common would also be classified as a town.
At a recent Solihull council meeting, Councillor Andy Mackiewicz who holds the cabinet Portfolio Holder - Climate Change and Planning, said the plans meant some ‘history being made’ but reassured residents that the reclassification is for planning only, residents can still refer to their communities as villages.
But in Dorridge today the plans were a bit confusing with residents feeling split on the decision.
For an older married couple, residents strolling around the village with their dog were surprised by the plans. “We’ve already had plans passed for the Arden Triangle, that’s a very large development, so when this came along we felt that the area was really being taken over. It’s completely losing its character.
“And we feel as though we’ve had our fair share of new buildings for the time being.”
The couple also felt that the decision “appears to be driven by greed of developers and maybe councillors on board…we don’t feel we have the infrastructure, the car park is already full at the railway station, Sainsbury’s overwhelmed we get speeding cars along local roads and avenues.”
Another resident in the area shared this feeling of Dorridge feeling congested. They told BirminghamWorld: “If this is a genuine attempt by the council to protect the greenbelt around Dorridge, Knowle and Bentley Heath, and to shield villages like Hockley Heath from the wholly inappropriate number of developments proposed on their beautiful green spaces, then credit where it’s due.
“Residents have long been concerned about the impact of overdevelopment, and any effort to limit it is welcome.
“That said, there is still an enormous number of new homes planned for these three villages. I drove through Dorridge on a quiet Wednesday afternoon recently, and it already feels too congested.
“Parking at Sainsbury’s is difficult, the roads are clogged, and there’s just one GP surgery serving not only the immediate area but also the wider area.”
Meanwhile, David Barker, 55, a university lecturer who lives in the area shared that he would like to know more about the plans and if these proposals would help Dorridge’s infrastructure, he’d welcome the idea.
“I’ve got three kids and we often talk about is Dorridge a village? Is Knowle a village? And they think it's quite big to be a village. I think they would quite like it being known as a town and I think in some ways it does feel a bit like a town. It doesn’t feel like a village to me. I think it's already too big for that.’
He continued: “I don't know enough about the planning situation to know whether it's a good thing if we become a town that will stop some of the building that seems to be on the verge of happening.
“But it does seem to me that there are a lot of buildings being planned for new houses around here and I’m not sure if we have the infrastructure to cope with that. If making it a town stops a little bit of that then I think it’s a good thing.”
Residents have a chance to voice their opinions during a six-week consultation period following the agreement on the revised definition.
Solihull Council has shared further details of the plans with Birmingham World, stating that: “The present consultation will help the Council to determine how best to refer to Knowle, Dorridge & Bentley Heath when assessing planning applications where the term town or village is relevant to the consideration.
“The Council has undertaken the present consultation so that it can apply the new national Green Belt policy appropriately. It is likely that the settlement hierarchy will be addressed in the new local plan, but in the meantime this consultation exercise is an opportunity for communities and other stakeholders to comment on what the most appropriate approach to interpreting the new policy should be.”