Bid to break Shropshire local plan logjam without adding more homes for the Black Country

The Planning Inspectorate has put a block on approving the Shropshire Local Plan until it can prove how it is helping councils in the Black Country satisfy their 'unmet need' for housing.

Shropshire Council's cabinet was told on Wednesday that its officers believe they have put together a case that can move the local planning process on. The plan is meant to cover the period from 2016 to 2038 and sets the policies for delivering housebuilding in the county.

Cabinet members were told that the council has met its duty to co-operate but further work needed to be done and this is not unusual.

The council believes its allocation of land for 30,800 new homes "remains appropriate" and they do not have to allocate any more sites for housing or employment land.

If the local planning process so far is approved at Whitehall the examination of it will move on to more detailed discussion of individual sites that have been identified for development.

Councillors were told that the council needs to have a local plan and a supply of housing, or developers get the upper hand.

Conservative council leader Lezley Picton said an "incredible amount of work" has been put in by a small team of officers to compile a report that was so big that she had not read it all.

She added that she hoped the process could move forward "as soon as practically possible" and added that she was concerned at the speed of action by the Planning Inspectorate.

Councillor Julian Dean said he was pleased that the council is "holding the line on numbers across the county."

And other councillors agreed that "cross party co-operation has worked".

Documents put to the cabinet meeting said that the council will not be adding any new housing or development sites to its plans – already made up of 30,800 homes up to 2038, including a contribution of 1,500 for councils in the Black Country.

The paper prepared for the cabinet says that “new information” providing a “reasoned and justified response” has been prepared on a number of “key points”.

The paper, from Mark Barrow, the council’s executive director for place, states: “Importantly, the new material provides a justification for why it is felt the council does not need to amend its previously agreed housing and employment land requirements, and therefore that we do not believe it necessary to identify any additional site allocations for development.”

In a letter earlier this year the three planning inspectors had questioned whether the council needed to add more sites to meet its contribution to the Black Country.

It also said that the contribution of 1,500 homes for the Black Country should be specifically allocated, with the council detailing which developments would be making the contribution.

If the council considered adding fresh sites it could have opened the door for the inclusion of a controversial proposal from the Bradford Estates to develop around 3,000 homes and a major employment site on green belt land north of Junction 3 of the M54 and west of the village of Tong.

The next stage of the process includes a second stage of hearings, followed by the Inspector’s Report likely to be issued in Spring 2024.

Subject to the examination process progressing at its current pace, its likely the Local Plan will seek full council adoption in June 2024, councillors have been told.