Shropshire’s Local Plan – Let’s get it right this time
Liberal Democrat bosses at Shropshire Council are determined to get a comprehensive and credible Local Plan in place after the failure of Shropshire’s Conservatives to get a Local Plan ratified last time.
The Government requires Shropshire Council to submit a comprehensive draft Local Plan by the end of 2028. It should then be approved by the Planning Inspectorate in 2029.
Councillor David Walker, the portfolio holder responsible for planning at Shropshire Council said: “We would have liked to have got the Local Plan sorted sooner, but there is a strict process and 30-month timetable laid out by the Government that we must stick to. Going faster or slower is not an option. We’ve also had to wait for Government legislation which only appeared in March. This will still be the fastest a Local Plan will have been created in Shropshire. We can't risk any problems again so it must be right first time.”
The current situation follows the failure by Conservative-run Shropshire Council to get a Local Plan approved by the Planning Inspectorate previously. In November 2024 Government planning inspectors said they had “significant concerns about the soundness” of Shropshire’s draft Local Plan. They said that those concerns couldn't be overcome and invited the council to withdraw the plan, which the council promptly did. Since then, the Labour Government has launched a new framework for planning and set mandatory housing targets for Shropshire – currently 2,030 dwellings a year.
Lib Dem Leader of Shropshire Council, Councillor Heather Kidd said: “With no Local Plan currently in place, the council has little power restrict the areas coming forward for development. This failure by Shropshire’s Conservatives means uncontrolled developments are taking place in areas that could have been restricted. It’s important that we don’t let this happen again.”
The council has now launched a scoping consultation about the process itself and the scope of the local plan. Despite some confusion, the formal process to create a Local Plan has not yet started and does not begin until September.
However, drop-in sessions have been organised by council officers in advance of the formal process to start gauging sentiment amongst residents. Council officers have also circulated maps ahead of the process that indicate areas of land that developers and landowners would like developed.
Councillor Walker explained: “It’s important to point out that these maps do not indicate areas that the council are proposing. They only indicate areas that developers and landowners have put forward and are subject to assessment during the full process. Many areas requested will be rejected by that assessment. The allocations will be published in mid-2027. The plan will be put forward to the Planning Inspectorate in 2028, with adoption scheduled for March 2029.”
The formal process begins in September. It will last for 30 months. Residents will have multiple chances to submit their views during this time. The current consultation is about the scope of the plan, what it should contain and the council’s approach to making the plan.
Councillor Walker added: “The Liberal Democrats understand the need to build more houses, especially for the benefit of Shropshire’s residents. But we also need the quality jobs to support that. Often younger locals are forced out of the area they grew up in because of a lack of housing or employment. This plan must address the diverse needs of a large county and not just a numerical need. It will need to be infrastructure-led. With the right homes and jobs in the right places.
“It is important that all residents have a say when planning Shropshire’s future.”
NOTES
- You can read some background about the failure to get the previous Local Plan approved here