A scheme which could see developers pay for more low cost housing, better roads or better flooding defences in Shropshire has been given the go-ahead.

The new regulations, known as the Community Infrastructure Levy, (CIL) gives communities a greater say on what the developers’ cash should go towards in their areas when a new development is given planning approval.

People in the county will be among the first in the country to benefit from the new rules which decide what money from developers should be spent on, yesterday’s Shropshire Council Cabinet meeting was told.

The meeting heard it was among two local authorities in the country leading the way in developing the levy.

The levy can be imposed on developers and the cash raised can be spent on a wide range of improvements, depending on what the local community wants.

Councillors were told improvements such as low cost housing or flood management schemes could be forthcoming, if local communities said they were top priorities.

Planning policy officer Jake Berriman told the cabinet: “This transfers power over to local communities from ourselves who then have the opportunity to take things forward themselves.

“We are moving away from plans that are imposed on communities to more collaborative plan-making.

“There is a huge ability for communities to bring forward plans.”

Mr Berriman said the new regulations improved community engagement and provided more transparency.

The meeting heard 90 per cent of the money from developers would be spent locally while 10 per cent would be used for strategic projects although some projects, such as work on the A5 roundabouts around Shrewsbury, could dip into both pots.

Among strategic projects already identified are improvements to the A5 at Shrewsbury and Oswestry and flood risk assessments in Albrighton, Bishops Castle, Bridgnorth, Market Drayton, Whitchurch and Gobowen.

Councillor Mal Price, cabinet member for strategic planning, said one example could be improvements in Much Wenlock which often gets flooded during storms.

Mr Price said he would imagine flood defences “would be on top of Much Wenlock’s CIL list”.

Councillors approved the CIL policy and backed the identified strategic policies.

By Iain St John