Please refuse planning permission to destroy a woodland planted to commemorate the new Millennium that is both a Site of Local Interest for Nature Conservation (SLINC) and has a Woodland Tree Preservation Order, in order to build unwanted luxury homes for the private market. It has become a haven for wildlife including owls, woodpeckers, butterflies, bats and deer and is much needed for wildlife and the local community.

We request that the current planning application, P25/0702, be refused by the council the same as the previous ones which have received close to 300 objections. The council have publicly stated that making the site a SLINC would protect it for future generations (https://councilnews.dudley.gov.uk/news/greater-protection-plan-for-green-spaces) so allowing this application to proceed will likely set a precedent that jeopardises the future of not just this SLINC, woodland and much loved community green space but also others in the Dudley borough which the council has promised would be safe from development in the current local plan. This is an urban green space and woodland in a very built up area which is essential as a wildlife corridor as well as providing health and recreational benefits to the local community.

We would further request that the council either considers purchase of the land or assists residents with a communal purchase to ensure it is protected.