Shropshire a frontrunner to give more power to local people

Shropshire has been announced as a trailblazer for new powers to give local communities more influence to help shape development in their area.

Neighbourhood planning is a powerful new right being introduced by the Government as part of the Localism Bill.  Shropshire Council is one of 17 local authorities across the country to be selected as a frontrunner to trial the new powers.

Neighbourhood planning is a key reform designed to give local people a real voice in deciding the look and feel of development in their area – from determining the locations of shops, offices and schools to setting standards of design for new housing.  If approved by a local referendum, Shropshire Council will need to adopt a neighbourhood plan, providing it’s in line with the wider ambitions for growth set out in the new Core Strategy adopted on 24 February 2011.

Much Wenlock will be the first area in Shropshire to trial the legislation, followed by Oswestry and Lydbury North in the second wave later this year, and then Kinnerley and Underdale, Monkmoor and Abbey in the third wave.

Shropshire Council is to be given £20,000 for each area to help fund the work, and will be working with town and parish councils and community groups in these areas to help them come up with neighbourhood development plans which outline their priorities.

Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for planning, Councillor Malcolm Price, said:

“I am delighted that we are once again at the forefront of planning innovation which benefits local communities.  We hope these new rights will give local people in Shropshire more influence over planning issues in their local area, and we are currently working hard on the detail of how it will tie in with our planning vision for sustainable places in Shropshire and work on the ground.

“The communities that have agreed to work with us on this project are all fantastic places where people are pulling together for their area, and I hope that this project further cements all the good work already underway.”

Shropshire Council member for Much Wenlock, Councillor Milner Whiteman, added:

“I am very pleased Much Wenlock has been chosen to trail this new neighbourhood planning legislation.  People in Much Wenlock are very keen to become involved with how the town is developed, and have already shown great interest in producing the parish plan and attending the consultation meetings with Shropshire Council. This legislation will allow the local community to have a real voice in planning the future of Much Wenlock.”

Further notes

The Neighbourhood Planning Frontrunners will prepare planning documents in close collaboration with community groups and parish councils. These documents will be prepared under the current legal and policy framework ahead of the new provisions for Neighbourhood Planning that will be introduced through the Localism Bill. Neighbourhood Planning will be a radical new right being introduced in the Localism Bill.

When the provisions of the Localism Bill are enacted, Neighbourhood Plans will give communities a much greater say on what gets built, but must be in line with wider ambitions for growth in the council’s development plan.

Local people will be able to define types of development which will have automatic planning permission. This is known as a Neighbourhood Development Order.

If approved by a local referendum, the Neighbourhood Plan will need to be adopted by the council.