'Around 2,500 homes' to be built in Telford and Wrekin for Black Country residents by 2040

Telford & Wrekin Council published the final draft of its local plan, a document which sets out how land in the area is allocated for future housing and employment uses, earlier this year.

The plan is now at its final stage before it gets submitted to the UK Government for examination.

Around 20,200 new homes are set to be built in the borough by 2040 - with around 2,500 of those earmarked to house residents of neighbouring authorities as part of Telford's contribution to housing targets for the region.

That figure has increased from the previous version of the plan, which outlined around 1,300 homes allocated to meet wider regional housing needs.

However there is no requirement for Telford to contribute to employment sites for other West Midlands authorities, according to the report.

The figures were outlined in a report set to be discussed by Wolverhampton Council's cabinet on Wednesday, July 11, where it will approve a response to Telford's plan, which it says is "positive and welcomed".

The Wolverhampton Council area alone has a shortfall of more than 10,000 homes, while cumulative shortfalls for the Black Country authorities in Wolverhampton, Dudley, Sandwell and Walsall are "significantly higher".

As part of the process, the authority has a duty to co-operate with neighbouring authorities on targets for house-building and allocation of sites for employment uses.

"The principle of a housing offer to the Black County authorities, including Wolverhampton, is positive and welcomed. It is also welcomed that this offer has increased and is now set out in the plan itself, giving it more weight," said the response from Wolverhampton Council.

"Wolverhampton has the strongest migration relationship with Telford & Wrekin, equating to 44 per cent of net migration movements over the period 2011-19. This would suggest that a minimum of 1,077 homes could be attributed to meeting needs arising in Wolverhampton."

Shropshire Council had also agreed to provide 1,500 homes and 30ha of employment land for the benefit of the Black Country, prior to the collapse of its own local plan earlier this year.

The report added that Telford lies outside the Black Country’s functional economic market area (FEMA), the area considered reasonable for the majority of workers to travel for employment, so the authority is not required to contribute to a cumulative regional shortfall of 83.5 ha of employment development land up to 2042.

"The Black Country Economic Development Needs Assessment does not identify Telford as an area with a close economic relationship with the Black Country FEMA and recommends that areas with a stronger relationship should be prioritised for Duty to Cooperate engagement," the report adds.

"Therefore, it is accepted that there is no requirement for the Telford and Wrekin Local Plan to make a contribution towards employment development land shortfalls for either the Black Country FEMA or Wolverhampton."

The Telford & Wrekin Council local plan, and the proposed response from Wolverhampton Council, will be discussed at the council's cabinet meeting on Wednesday, July 11.