Can Shropshire cope with extra 13,000 homes?
Major consideration will need to be given as to whether Shropshire has the services to cope if up to a further 13,000 homes are built by 2036, civic leaders have warned.
The mayors of towns in Shropshire say there needs to be the right balance between homes and services when Shropshire Council decides on where houses should be built in the future.
It comes after the council announced a further 13,000 homes could be built in the region before 2036.
It forms part of Shropshire Local Plan – Shropshire Council's blueprint for future development and the starting point for planning decisions in the county. The current plan covers the period 2006 to 2026.
But to reflect changes in national policy, the council is to carry out a partial review of the current plan and extend it to cover the period up to 2036. Under the existing local plan, 27,500 houses will be required between 2006 and 2026.
Councillor David Minnery, mayor of Market Drayton, said: "The increase in life expectancy, the increase in the number of people living alone, and the increase in economic activity bringing in new workers will mean that there will be an increasing demand for new homes, and Market Drayton cannot be exempt from this if we want our town to prosper.
"However, building more homes is not enough; there has to be a better balance between homes and services than there has been in the past and this will be a major consideration for Shropshire Council when these land allocation decisions are taken."
The mayor of Oswestry, Councillor Paul Milner, stressed how important it is to retain local control over planning applications.
"I'm not sure that Oswestry needs any more at the moment and I wouldn't want to see houses put on a green belt area," he said. "You can't build houses unless there is a demand for them. But this report is looking far off into the future and to plan for that we need to make sure there are key services in place to support major developments, like schools, GPs and dentists."
An eight-week consultation into the new plan was today starting, running until March 20. Consultation responses will be used to inform the next stages of the review, and further consultation on a full draft of the reviewed local plan is due to be carried out in the early part of 2018.
