Telford and Wrekin planning hearings start next week – what’s happening, where, and why
A set of formal hearings are set to start next week which will eventually decide the fate of the crucial Telford and Wrekin local plan including thousands of new homes.
Across three weeks of all-day hearings government planning inspectors Mike Worden and Catherine Carpenter will be listening to representations from Telford & Wrekin Council, local councillors, campaigners, and developers.
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It is important because the local plan provides the policies against which massive potential housing developments will be measured.
The local plan also includes policies for jobs, business and industry, policies on high streets, market towns, providing vital infrastructure, and for protecting green spaces while tackling climate change.
The proposals include some 8,000 new homes in the north of the borough, around Muxton, Bratton, and Wheat Leasows, after leaders assessed that the southern parts of the borough had seen lots of development.
In neighbouring Shropshire, the withdrawal of the local plan following criticisms from inspectors has lead to developers gaining the upper hand.
Telford & Wrekin Council leaders say that having a plan-led approach avoids ‘speculative’ development.
The policies in a local plan help set out where new housing and employment development will be brought forward in an area.
The Telford and Wrekin Local Plan Review is due to kick off at 10am on Tuesday, February 24.
After the inspectors set the scene and council representatives make their opening statements, the hearings are set to leap into fundamental questions.
The inspectors have set the framework for the discussions throughout the process, which include whether the council has met its duty to cooperate to provide homes for the Black Country and Birmingham.
Telford & Wrekin Council is set to be supported in its claim that it has by councils in the Black Country.
Developers and housebuilders are setting out to challenge this at the hearings being held at Meeting Point House in Telford’s Southwater.
In the afternoon of the first day the inspectors will consider whether the dates covered by the plan should be altered by one year to last until 2041.
This would have implications for the overall housing targets.
On Wednesday the hearings will look into whether the local plan’s aim to build 1,010 dwellings a year – 20,200 over the plan period – is soundly based.
Similar questions will be asked of whether the plan’s inclusion of 153 dwellings per annum for the Black Country are ‘justified and supported by evidence’.
The programme on Thursday includes whether land allocations are “justified, effective, and consistent with national policy”.
Fridays are put down as “reserve days” during the hearing weeks in case any items need more discussion time.
When this process is completed it could take around one year for the results to be announced by the inspectors.
Modifications to the plan are an expected part of the process which will include exhaustive fact checking.
You can find out more about planning applications and planned roadworks where you live by visiting publicnoticeportal.uk
