Issue - meetings

To approve the publication version of the Local Plan.

To consider the Local Plan.

The Cabinet Member: Neighbourhoods, Planning & Sustainability presented the report of the Director: Prosperity & Investment which set out the Council’s legal obligation to comply with regulations to ensure the Local Plan was up to date.

Government policy over a number of years has required Local Planning Authorities to deliver Local Plans and keep them up to date to ensure that they are reviewed every 5 years. The Council was also required to show a 5-year land supply for development to avoid speculative development in locations which could impact valuable greenspaces and would not support provision of planned key infrastructure, such as schools and highway improvements.

The existing Telford & Wrekin Local Plan was adopted in February 2018 and given these circumstances and opportunities it was proposed that a review of the Local Plan be launched. The proposed review would see population growth of c28,500 over the plan period, with a total Borough population below the original vision of the Telford Development Corporation of a new town consisting of 260,000 people. Telford had remained the key population centre, most accessible location and destination for jobs and inward investment. As part of the review, the Council were also planning for development needs of communities in Newport and the rural area.

In line with national guidance the Council previously consulted on Issues & Options (I&O) during 2020/21. This set out and sought public views on four strategic objectives underpinning the review of the Telford & Wrekin Local Plan:-

• Employment led growth through inward investment and job creation;
• A ‘Forest Community’ approach which affords the protection, enhancement and accessibility of the natural environment and green spaces that characterise the Borough;
• Support for regeneration of our Borough Towns, new town estates and infrastructure Publication Version of Local Plan; and
• Meeting local housing needs including providing more affordable and specialist accommodation to support people to live longer and healthier at home.
  
  

The process for the formal review and consultation for the draft local plan was detailed in the report and the Council had reviewed comments received and amended the plan where deemed appropriate. The key themes from the consultation included:-

• The number of homes the Council were planning for and the distribution of new allocations weighted towards the north of the Borough
• The need to plan for new infrastructure to accommodate new development
• The release of agricultural land for new development
• Concerns around flooding and drainage on and around proposed development sites
• The need to protect important green spaces
  
  

As part of the key proposals of the local plan, over a third of housing would be affordable or social housing, new buildings would be more energy efficient, green spaces would be protected, a further 17,000 jobs would be secured through new land for existing businesses to grow, an additional six new schools would be built and GP surgeries expanded.

The review process had also enabled the Council to update policies within the Local Plan and where needed introduce new policies to better reflect the development priorities of the Council  ...  view the full minutes text for item 50