Shropshire Council will not be finding additional homes for Local Plan

Shropshire Council says it won’t be able to find another three years’ worth of housing supply after inspectors found “serious shortcomings” with its Local Plan.

The local authority submitted its proposals in 2021, outlining sites suitable for development, dating back from 2016 all the way to 2038.

Around 31,000 homes featured in the plan, while the authority also agreed to contribute around 1,500 properties and 31 hectares of employment land to help meet unmet need in the Black Country.

However after reviewing the plan,  inspectors Louise Crosby and Elaine Worthington said they had “serious concerns” about the geography and distribution of the proposed allocations that have been identified to meet the Black Country needs.

“Whilst the proposed housing allocation at the former Ironbridge Power Station site and the Bridgnorth site are both well related to the Black Country, and in particular Telford and Wolverhampton, the site on the west side of Shrewsbury is far less so,” said the inspectors.

“This is especially so in comparison to areas such as Shifnal and Albrighton
which are located close to the M54 motorway and the Black Country.

“In terms of employment land, the council has re-purposed 30 hectares of the 39ha employment site at Shifnal for Black Country needs.

“Whilst locationally this relates relatively well to the Black Country, the whole site was previously allocated to meet Shropshire’s needs, and exceptional circumstances were argued to justify releasing this site from the green belt.

“Only nine hectares are now being allocated to meet Shropshire’s needs and no new employment sites are proposed to replace the 30ha that is effectively lost to the Black Country.

“Given that the council felt that exceptional circumstances existed to justify the removal of the site from the green belt to meet its own needs originally, it is unclear why the 30ha reduction to its own land supply is now acceptable.”

The inspectors added that at least three additional years would need to be added to the housing and employment requirements, and the council would need to find at least an additional three years’ worth of supply.

The council has been told provide a “project plan” that sets out how all of the soundness issues will be addressed within a six month timeframe.

However, if this is not possible, then the inspectors would need to consider the withdrawal of the draft Local Plan.
Shropshire Council says it is prepared to carry out work to achieve the following outcomes:

• Identify a new strategic employment site allocation for Shrewsbury
• Increase the housing requirement by 1,000 dwellings to 32,300 (30,800 for Shropshire and 1,500 for the Black Country)
• Increase the employment land requirement by 10ha to 330ha (300ha for Shropshire and 30ha for the Black Country)
• Identify a new allocation(s) to acccomdate the Black Country needs

However, it says it is not proposing to accept the following:

• The requirement to extend the plan period by three years
• The suitability of stage three of the sustainability appraisal and site assessment methodology
• The suitability of the green belt evidence base
• The overall balance of housing and employment requirements and land supply, although the council will offer to consider the allocation of appropriate Strategiic Land Availability Assessment sites to further support confidence of delivery.

“We’ve reflected upon the inspectors’ letter, and responding in full to all of the soundness concerns within the six month timeframe is not considered either possible or beneficial,” said Chris Schofield,  Cabinet member for planning and regulatory services.

“But, neither do we wish to withdraw the draft Local Plan immediately. Our proposed response proposes a compromise position, where there is agreement to undertake further work on some issues, but clearly establishes the issues where we now request the inspectpors to reconsider their conclusions

“Under this option, it should be recognised there are issues where we may not fully agree with the conclusions of the inspectors, but are nevertheless willing to seek to undertake the work required within the six month timeframe in order to move forward positively.

“However, if the inspectors aren’t willing to accept our proposals it will be for them to find the Plan unsound and to write to us explaining why.”

Cabinet will be asked to agree to the council’s response to the inspectors’ letter at next Wednesday’s (February 12) meeting, including a proposed new timeline to the plan.

Members will also receive a report which provides information on the new National Planning Policy Framework (NPPF) and its implications for decision making on planning applications and Local Plan preparation.

This includes a housing need in many areas, including Shropshire, of 1,994 dwellings per year – much higher than previous target of 1,070.