Plans for 600-home village expansion and cemetery

The homes and cemetery would be built on land in Berkswell

A village with a population of about 3,000 people could see 600 new homes built.

Barratt David Wilson Homes Mercia has applied to Solihull Council for outline permission to develop an area at Hawkshurst Moor Farm in Berkswell, right on the boundary with Coventry.

Half the green-belt site, on Broad Lane, could also get a "multi-faith burial ground" with space for a maximum of 425 burials per year.

The developer said it was needed because cemeteries in Birmingham, Solihull and Coventry were "close to capacity and will not be able to serve the long-term needs for these areas".

A previous plan to build a solar farm on part of the 67-hectare site was turned down by the authority and a government planning inspector in the late 2010s as it was deemed inappropriate development of the green belt.

An assessment by the current applicants says the green belt designation should only carry limited weight because of revised government guidance, and that the site "does not perform at the highest end of the spectrum for any green belt purpose".

Consultation is now under way on the latest proposal, with a closing date for submission of views of 29 July.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.