Local plan for housing by 2029, council says

Restrictions on where homes can be built in Shropshire could be in place by March 2029.

Shropshire Council is currently without a local plan, a document councils draw up to set out a framework for development in their area, after the authority was forced to withdraw proposals in July.

As a consequence, council planners have less control over the number of homes being built in Shropshire and there is a greater presumption in favour of sustainable developments.

A revived plan is due to go before councillors next Wednesday, setting out a framework for the next 20 years.

The council's previous attempt at getting a local plan agreed was submitted by the previous Conservative administration in 2021.

The proposals outlined areas suitable for new housing developments and identified locations for a further 31,000 homes.

The scheme also agreed to support neighbouring Black Country authorities with about 1,500 new homes and 31 hectares (77 acres) of employment land.

But planning inspectors found "serious shortcomings" in the plan and the council was forced to withdraw it.

The authority, now run by the Liberal Democracts, hope their revised plan will cover the county up to 2046.

But before it can be adopted, the proposals must go through months of consultation and assessment, before going back before planning inspectors.

The council hope a completed plan can be submitted in August 2028 and. if the inspectors approve, it can finally be adopted the following spring.

Until then, the council is in a weaker position if it wants to oppose housing developments.

The National Planning Policy Framework states that councils without a functioning local plan must give "more weight to the presumption in favour of sustainable development".

Councils like Shropshire must also use government targets for the number of new homes, rather than their own.

This news was gathered by the Local Democracy Reporting Service which covers councils and other public service organisations.

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