Four days left to respond to the Council’s Local Plan consultation
Telford & Wrekin Council’s eight week consultation on its Local Plan ends on Friday (25 SEPT).
The Council has held two days of consultation events at Oakengates Theatre, as well as 11 further events around the borough, hosted by Parish and Town Councils.
Residents have been asked to offer their views on the Telford & Wrekin Local Plan, which is the document the Council will use for town planning decisions affecting the borough until 2031.
This document is being consulted during an eight week period this summer, from the beginning of August until Friday (25 SEPT).
The Local Plan has been prepared following a number of consultations, with responses from many local residents, to get it to the current stage.
The Council has ensured that the Local Plan reflects the feedback received to date.
Among its key proposals are:
· Building fewer new homes, while continuing to meet the current and future housing needs of our communities. As a result of feedback from residents at previous consultations, fewer new homes than had previously been proposed will be built – down by over 41 per cent on what had been proposed in 2010.
· Expanding the borough’s green network of protected open spaces.
· Allocating new land for employment – this will support thousands of new jobs in the borough, ensuring it remains a place that people live and work in.
· Separately, the Council is also committed to creating a new Green Guarantee. The Green Guarantee will protect at least 100 green spaces from development. The community will be asked to add at least another 50 community green spaces to benefit from the Green Guarantee.
The Council is now seeking the views of local people on the Local Plan before it is sent to the Government’s Planning Inspectorate.
Councillor Richard Overton, the Council’s deputy leader and Cabinet Member for Housing, Public Health and Protection, said: “The Local Plan is a very clear statement on what we believe should be the direction of the borough’s future housing and employment development.
“We have listened to the feedback we have had from local people and the number of new homes allocated in the Local Plan is over 41 per cent less than what was agreed in 2010.
“During this current eight week period of consultation, we have already had nearly 300 responses.
“This plan would give us further power to block speculative developments outside the plan.
“We have also committed to expanding our Green Network and to protecting at least 100 green spaces. The borough’s mix of urban and green space is what makes this borough so special.
“Finally, the plan envisages creating new employment land that could provide for up to 25,000 jobs – essential to support our growing population and to ensure the borough remains a place that people can live and work in.
“We want to hear from people what they think about the plan – for example are the sites for development the right ones and, if not, where would people want them to go?
“We have ensured that the Local Plan reflects the feedback we have already had and it’s vital we hear as many views as possible and I would urge everyone to get involved in the consultation.”
Consultation on the Local Plan runs until 5pm on Friday 25 September. Full details of the consultation, as well as the Local Plahttp://www.telford.gov.uk/localplan can be seen at www.telford.gov.uk/localplan
