A long-time campaigner called the destruction of a local wildlife corridor heartbreaking as builders cleared the land.
Phil Shakespeare described the green strip as an oasis that offered calm beside an Asda store in Oldbury.
He led residents in efforts to protect the site, but an appeal allowed plans for 60 homes to proceed in April.
Developers have now flattened the area, and new aerial images show stark changes from last year.
Local people raised concerns about wildlife loss, increased congestion and privacy issues.
They also feared rising pollution from the nearby M5 motorway.
Shakespeare said the felled trees once helped absorb harmful emissions from heavy traffic.
Planning Decisions Shift Against Residents
Sandwell Council’s planning committee rejected the Countryside proposal after neighbours cited pollution risks.
The committee pointed to health concerns and linked heavy road traffic to cancer-related pollutants.
The planning inspectorate overturned that decision in April and approved the development.
Officials said forecast pollution levels would remain well within recognised safety limits.
Countryside argued that its scheme would provide 60 affordable homes and create local jobs.
The developer said ecological enhancements would accompany the construction project.
A Lost Refuge for Local Wildlife
Shakespeare’s home backs onto the plot, and he fought multiple proposals over more than ten years.
He said residents previously blocked a plan to expand the supermarket car park.
They then stopped an attempt to build an industrial unit on the same land.
He said they won those battles by highlighting poor air quality and pollution issues.
Campaigners said the corridor sheltered badgers, foxes and several bird species for decades.
Shakespeare explained that Victorian allotments once occupied the site before abandonment in the 1930s.
He said wildlife flourished because the land remained private and inaccessible to people.
He described summers when thick foliage hid the motorway and created a countryside feel.
He concluded that business always prevails and that nothing can restore what developers have removed.
