Deputy Leader of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Board Member of WMCA joins Future Cities Forum in Oxford 2026

Image: courtesy of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Future Cities Forum is delighted that Ian Courts, Deputy Leader of Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council and Lead Member for Managed Growth and Board Member of the West Midlands Combined Authority and the West Midlands Investment Zone Board, will be joining our January 'Science cities' forum at Jesus College, Oxford.

Solihull like the rest of the West Midlands region is feeling the pressure on planning to provide the go-ahead for new housing.

Last month, Cllr Courts wrote:

'Last week, I read a press release from the West Midlands Combined Authority (WMCA) about the West Midlands Mayor’s Spatial Development Strategy (SDS): that the opportunity was being given to share your views on future planning. I felt this needed clarification and an explanation of the relationship with what Solihull is doing.

"I think everyone understands the pressure of need for housing and Solihull has always been willing to play its part. However, the issue is the where, the how, the when, as well as the numbers; fundamental to this are the policy changes made by the new government regarding development in the Green Belt, which constitutes two thirds of our borough. 

"In 1955 the system of Green Belt protection was set up and has endured. The rules were clear. To develop in the Green Belt, you needed to prove what is known as 'exceptional circumstances'. There was even an argument that housing need did not justify removing that status. Solihull won countless appeals against planning applications refused by the Council where it was seeking to protect the Green Belt.

"Last year’s updated National Planning Policy Framework changed all that. It says in paragraph 155 that housing need effectively trumps Green Belt protection. This is through the new concept of ‘Grey Belt’, so we are now seeing the argument crop up to whether, in effect, Green Belt protection for a particular site is justified or even applicable. For this purpose, it has also lowered the protection given against encroachment of Green Belt in the countryside and puts the emphasis on preventing merging between towns (but not villages!). We now understand that the role of the local planning committee is also to be reduced by government, but the details of this are not clear yet. 

"Another change made was to introduce new powers for regional mayors and require the setting up of spatial development strategies. Some of you may recall that regional planning (the Regional Spatial Strategy (or RSS) as it was then) provided targets for local plans to meet, but these were removed in 2010 and were replaced by a ‘duty-to-cooperate’.       

"The West Midlands Combined Authority, at its board meeting in July, resolved to start work on this, based on a number of principles. Initially there were set to be seven of these: co-development with councils; timelines; infrastructure first; brownfield first; additionality to local authority plans; evidence led; integration with other national / local plans; and I was pleased to get support to add an eighth ‘enhancing the functions of green spaces’.

"I was also able to secure an amendment introducing an additional ‘member oversight’ process, enabling councillors to engage with and comment on the work as it progresses. Solihull will be one of the three members represented on this group.

"What is accepted is that in total the seven councils of the WMCA will not be able to meet our housing needs, but other adjacent rural areas such as Staffordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire have increased targets too. The map below illustrates the Green Belt in the West Midlands, and you can see how little is left in the metropolitan area (the area covered by the Combined Authority and the SDS – outlined in orange). It’s clear that the majority is located within Solihull so you can see why we are so vulnerable to attack. But the Green Belt has to be about more than just somewhere to build houses, and this is why I have been championing the added principle for the SDS and will continue to focus on the importance of our green spaces and local character. We will continue to take active steps to fight our corner in the region to protect our borough".

Ian became a Solihull Councillor in 2003, Leader in 2019 and has had responsibility for Economic Development for many years, including the UK Central brand. A member of the West Midlands Combined Authority, he has responsibility for Environment, Energy and HS2; Director and Environmental Champion for the GBSLEP.

He studied law at Trinity Hall, Cambridge, joined the John Laing Group, initially as a solicitor, then went into business, development and management, until retirement in 2004, following 30 years’ service. For several years Ian was a part-time lecturer / Visiting Fellow at Reading University and has particular interests in planning, climate change, environment and ecology.

Image below: Arden Cross development adjacent to the HS2 Interchange Station which is set to serve Solihull and the West Midlands as part of a significant transport hub , courtesy of Arden Cross / Solihull Metropolitan Borough Council

Meanwhile Mayor Richard Parker’s plans to reignite the West Midlands economy and raise living standards for tens of thousands of local people were backed by more than £2.5bn in November 2026 Budget.

The West Midlands Combined Authority says:'

The Mayor will use the money to drive forward his West Midlands Growth Plan which sets out to create 100,000 jobs, 120,000 new homes and better public transport.

'The huge four-year funding package announced by Chancellor Rachel Reeves is the region’s first ever multi-year settlement and is the latest step in an unprecedented shift in power, money and responsibility from Westminster to the West Midlands.

'The long-term funding gives the Mayor and other political leaders the ability to better plan and deliver major projects that can drive growth and tackle poverty.

'The Mayor said: “The Chancellor has today backed the West Midlands with a £2.5bn settlement to drive growth in every part of our region - and it puts fairness at the centre of that plan. It will lift children out of poverty, strengthen our public services and support working people with a proper living wage.

“This is a Budget that helps to rebuild our region from the ground up. It gives us the tools to get homes built, improve our buses and trains, boost skills and bring new investment into our towns and cities.

“After years without meaningful growth, this Budget makes responsible choices for a fairer economy and better opportunities for the people of the West Midlands.”

'The four-year funding package announced in today’s budget includes:

• £530m for skills and job support so local people can land the jobs being created

• £177m for new homes with a focus on more social and affordable housing

• £232m for economic regeneration including the revitalisation of high streets and town centres by helping start-up businesses move into empty premises

• £129m to support the environment and fight climate change including work to make homes warmer and more energy efficient

• £2.43m for health and wellbeing including money to tackle homelessness and rough sleeping'