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Hundreds of acres of green belt will be transformed to create houses and jobs after the Birmingham Development Plan was given the go-ahead.

The Government's planning inspectorate has awarded the green light to release the land in Langley and Peddimore, in Sutton Coldfield, to help plug a yawning housing gap in the city.

Now, Birmingham City Council wants a giant new neighbourhood with 6,000 houses in Langley and a 175-acre strategic employment site in Peddimore - but plans for houses at North Worcestershire Golf Course were blocked.

The Birmingham Development Plan (BDP) opens the door to building a total of 51,100 homes which is still short of the 89,000 the city needs in the next 15 years amid a soaring population.

It also allows for nearly 750 acres of land to create jobs, 85 acres of retail floor space and 185 acres of offices - and will lead to new roads, public transport routes and schools.

The inspector supported the release of green belt land but said there would be no more released for the next ten years.

Waheed Nazir, strategic director for economy at Birmingham City Council, said it was a vital step forward for the city.

He said: "This puts Birmingham in a strong position to be able to deliver 51,000 homes by 2031. The housing requirement for the city is huge but this puts us in position to deliver that level of growth."

While proposals for 51,100 homes fall nearly 38,000 short of the demand for the next 15 years, the inspector has agreed the plan appropriately deals with housing needs.

It opens the door to a new development in Langley, Sutton Coldfield, which will include schools and community facilities. It would see the bus rapid transit system Sprint heading to Langley, then through Sutton Coldfield town centre and the city centre.

The proposals also include a new junction with the A38 and details will go out to consultation this summer. However, Mr Nazir said brownfield development was at the heart of the plans.

He said: "The vast majority of these homes are not being built in the green belt so we don't have to wait to start doing this.

"The plan puts in place the policy to start delivering on the 6,000 but there is nothing stopping us from doing the other 45,000. Overall, this is about brownfield regeneration."

Sutton Coldfield green belt campaigner Suzanne Webb, of Project Fields, vowed to continue fighting.

Ms Webb, who is standing as a Conservative candidate in the local elections, said: "Rest assured that I and others will be pursuing all avenues to ensure that the plan is overturned and not adopted by the city council.

"To build 6,000 homes here in Sutton was never the most logical decision as the Birmingham's economic expansion strategy is city centre orientated and 6,000 houses in our royal town is not important in the scale of Birmingham's growth strategy.

"Not forgetting, of course, the significant public opposition and outcry to the development where residents stated very clearly their concerns over the lack of infrastructure.

"There are swathes of brownfield land ripe for developments which the public is not opposed to and which already has pre-existing infrastructure in place."

The inspector also gave the green light to the giant Peddimore employment area, near Minworth, and the Life Sciences Economic Zone, in Selly Oak and Edgbaston.

Peddimore is vital to the city's plans to boost employment, as shown by recent interest in the site from Aston Martin.

However, the inspector cut the developable area of Peddimore from 197 to 175 acres.

The 29.5-acre life sciences regeneration site is being developed by Harvest Partnership and is expected to provide up to 2,400 jobs on site and generate a turnover of up to £243 million.

Graham Silk, chairman of Birmingham's life sciences commission, said there was a huge possibility to base clinical trials and develop devices in the region, owing to its multi-ethnic community sold as "the population of Scotland with the profile of the world".

He said: "We are having a lot of discussion with industry at the moment about bringing a lot of jobs and value into the region.

"A lot of groups are very interested in locating here and we think it would be the beginning of something which means, in ten to 15 years, Birmingham will be a world test bed for devices, diagnostics and drugs."