Bombshell as council withdraws Shropshire local plan after inspectors' verdict

In a response which throws planned development in the council area into significant uncertainty the inspectors said it was unrealistic and 'over ambitious' for the authority to complete required work to make the document sound within six months.

They said: "We are not confident that the additional work now proposed could be completed within six months. The combination of these factors leaves us unable to apply our discretion in this case to allow the examination to continue."

Following the verdict the council has withdrawn the proposed plan - saying it was 'extremely frustrated' at the inspectors' response.

It added that it will now focus on preparing a plan for the period 2025-45 under the Government’s new system, which requires greater housing number from the authority.

The Local Plan is one of the council's most important policies and sets out locations across the authority's area where housing and commercial developments are recommended to take place up until 2038.

The proposed plan was made up of a combined 31,300 homes to be built over that timeframe, along with 320 hectares of employment land.

Without an adopted local plan, or a five year land supply, the council loses the ability to control development in the area - potentially handing the advantage to developers and causing frustration for communities.

It comes as government targets have also caused further headaches for Shropshire, raising its housing requirement to around 2,000 a year.

The council had faced a number of demands from the inspectors to carry out changes to ensure the Local Plan could be adopted.

Those came after inspectors abruptly halted hearings into the plan shortly before Christmas.

The demands included potentially opening up controversial areas of green belt in the east of the county to development - such as Tong, Shifnal, Albrighton, and land around Bridgnorth.

The council had written to inspectors last month setting out how it intended to address the issues they had highlighted.

But in their response the inspectors say they do not believe it can do the work within the six months required by government.

They said: "The Government makes clear in its July 2024 letter that work should ‘usually take no more than six months overall’. In our view this whole process is likely to take far longer than six months given the quantum of work  and resource implications."

One of the central issues in the council's plan has been its offer to provide 1,500 homes for Black Country councils - and how those homes were provided.

Inspectors had previously suggested the council had incorporated that figure into its own requirement, rather than adding it on top - which would have created a plan requiring 32,300 homes instead of 31,300.

They said that current approach meant Shropshire Council was not providing enough housing to meet its own needs.

After being questioned on the issue the council identified three sites which it said would provide the 1,500 Black Country homes - 600 at the Tasley Garden Village at Bridgnorth, 300 on land between Mytton Oak Road and Hanwood Road in Shrewsbury, and 600 at the former Ironbridge Power Station. 

But the inspectors highlighted the issue as a major concern - saying the sites are required to meet the council's own Shropshire target.

Writing in a previous letter they said: "It has become increasingly apparent through the course of the examination that when agreeing to take some of the unmet needs of the Black Country between the Regulation 18 and Regulation 19 stages of the preparation of the plan, the council did so on the basis that no additional sites would be necessary.

"This approach has led to a series of consequential and fundamental interrelated problems with the plan."

The council had agreed to look at fresh sites to fulfil the quota but with inspectors now calling for the plan to be withdrawn, there is an uncertain future over proposals for the area.

'Desperately disappointing'

Councillor Chris Schofield, Shropshire Council’s Cabinet member for planning and regulatory services, said the developments were 'desperately disappointing' for county residents.

He said: “We are extremely frustrated by the response of the inspectors. Having been invited by the inspectors to prepare a project plan, and having set out a positive proposal to address the majority of their soundness concerns, it is difficult to understand why they are now of the view this work is not achievable within these timeframes.

“The inspectors have now shut off any positive path forward for this plan to progress. Whilst we are aware Shropshire is not alone with similar issues being experienced in other councils across the country, this remains desperately disappointing news for the council and the residents of Shropshire.

“At all stages of this examination we have sought to positively work with the inspectors and respond to their guidance in a timely fashion.  Indeed, the fact we were prepared to allocate additional land to mitigate their concerns demonstrates the council’s intent to move forward pragmatically in order to adopt a Plan.

“We will now turn our attention to preparing a Plan for the period 2025-45. This will need to respond to the Government’s recent significant uplift in housing need for the county, as well as providing a framework for sustainable economic growth and managing the county’s environmental assets.  This process will begin later this year, and the council will work with communities  in establishing positive and sustainable growth strategies for their areas.”

Co-Leader of Shropshire Council's Liberal Democrat group, Heather Kidd, said the situation would have significant implications for development in the county.

She said: “This is a sad day for both our over stretched officers and for residents alike. Our residents now face developers putting applications wherever they want. This may not serve to deliver the home we need for local people or where we need them. Local decision making on planning sits on a knife edge."

Councillor Kidd's co-leader, Councillor Roger Evans, said an overstretched planning team at the council had struggled to cope with the workload.

He said the decision leaves the county 'exposed', and added: "This now needs discussing by members across the council. Waiting until June is not acceptable and constant delay is one of the reasons why we are in this position."