Views sought on planning document that could see 13,000 extra homes built in Shropshire
People are set to be asked for their views on a planning document which could see a further 13,000 homes built in the Shropshire Council area before 2036.
The Shropshire Local Plan is the council’s blueprint for future development in Shropshire, and provides the starting point for planning decisions in the county.
The current plan covers the period 2006 to 2026. It sets out the planning policies that will guide future development, and the sites where houses will be built, during this period.
Now, to reflect changes in national policy and to increase certainty, Shropshire Council is to carry out a partial review of the current Local Plan and extend it to cover the period up to 2036.
Under the existing Local Plan, 27,500 houses will be required between 2006 and 2026. By 2016, about 15,400 houses had been built.
The review of the Plan will ask whether an additional 11,000, 12,000 or 13,000 houses should be built between now and 2036.
Subject to approval by Cabinet at their meeting on 19 January 2017, an eight week consultation into the new plan will be carried out, from 23 January to 20 March.
Mal Price, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for planning and housing, said:
“The Local Plan review will provide an up-to-date and deliverable plan for Shropshire. This will help to maintain local control over planning decisions by ensuring that the adopted policies and proposals remain the starting point for decisions about development in Shropshire during the period to 2036.
“At this first stage, the review will focus on strategic issues and key areas of change, including options for the level and distribution of new housing and strategies for employment growth to 2036.
“The existing approach of focusing growth in Shropshire’s county town, market towns and key centres, whilst enabling some controlled development in rural areas to maintain local sustainability, will remain at the heart of the development strategy.”
The consultation document will be made available on Shropshire Council’s website, and paper copies will be provided at libraries and council offices in the county’s main towns.
About 4,000 organisations and individuals have previously registered an interest and will be notified directly of the publication of the consultation documents by email.
Consultation responses will be used to inform the next stages of the review, and further consultation on a full draft of the reviewed Local Plan covering a wider range of issues is due to be carried out in the early part of 2018.
The current Local Plan comprises the Core Strategy (adopted 2011); the Site Allocations and Management of Development (SAMDev) Plan (adopted 2015); and any adopted formal Neighbourhood Plans.
Following the review a single new Local Plan document will be produced.
Further information
1. The existing Local Plan housing requirement for 2006 – 2026 is 27,500 houses.
2. The proposed Local Plan Review will result in a new Plan covering the period from 2016 – 2036.
3. In 2016 we already had a supply of about 15,400 houses.
4. The current Plan Review consultation is asking for feedback on 3 options for housing growth during the period 2016 – 2036.
• Option 1: ‘Moderate Growth’ sets a total housing requirement of around 26,250 dwellings, but deducting what we already had in 2016 means a net requirement for around an additional 11,000 dwellings;
• Option 2: ‘Significant Growth’ sets a total housing requirement of around 27,500 dwellings, but deducting what we already had in 2016 means a net requirement for around an additional 12,000 dwellings;
• Option 3: ‘High Growth’ sets a total housing requirement of around 28,750 dwellings, but deducting what we already had in 2016 means a net requirement for around an additional 13,000 dwelllings.
